The Journal gives a weekly update on events in our English apple orchards, using pictures and video clips to follow seasonal activities and giving the consumer a level of detail not available from any other source.
All aspects of growing, harvesting, storage, grading, packing and marketing are included enabling consumers to understand the challenges English growers face in supplying our sophisticated market place.
Nice to see more sunshine and some real warmth, if only occasionally.
This morning (Friday) my wife and I popped into see our son for a coffee and I advised him on some minor pruning of his espalier apple trees. The tree format was changed from a centre leader to espalier in 2019 when he moved the trees from the front of house to a much more suitable and sunnier site in the back garden.
While the trees are not a 'perfect Espalier format' they are doing well and have been producing superb quality apples over the last few years. We are now trying to maximise the fruiting area (buds) while keeping vegetative growth under control, with late winter and summer pruning!
Classic Espalier format
Interesting results published on the British Apples and Pears website, confirms the nutritional benefits of eating apples and pears as part of a healthy diet.
New scientific research reveals that apples and pears are in the top five for nutritional quality. They truly are a superfood.
We all know that fruit and vegetables are good for us, but some pack a bigger nutritional punch than others.
The research, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, looked at people in three cohort studies in the US and conducted biomarker analysis on more than 41,000 participants.
Of the 52 fruit and vegetable items assessed by scientists, 19 were identified as high-metabolic quality, with apples and pears in the top five. To our mind, this really makes them a superfood.
The study found that the higher the intake of high-metabolic quality fruit and veg, like apples and pears, the lower the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
We hear a lot about the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables, but this new study also highlights the importance of eating the right quality as well as quantity of fruit and vegetables.
This research confirms what many have always known - an apple a day really does keep the doctor away.
The more high-quality fruit and vegetables - like apples and pears - we can eat, the lower our chances of getting a serious disease.
Spring is in the air, at least the weather this week suggests we are on the threshold and fruit buds moving from the dormant stage to bud swelling. Conference Pears are showing signs of swelling and some growers have started spraying their first fungicide round of the season.
In my days growing apples in Kent, this time of the year was one of hope and anticipation. One of the important factors in the development of fruit bud quality is the winter chill hours trees/fruit buds are subject to.
It is amazing how us apple growers can get so 'euphoric' about the sight of fruit buds!
Broadly speaking each variety has it's own requirement. Cox is different to Gala etc.
If the tree does not get enough chill hours, it hasn't had enough dormancy. Without sufficient dormancy, it cannot conserve enough energy to use for fruiting. In dormancy the fruit bud builds quality which will make it more likely to set a strong apple.
Remember, fruiting takes a lot of energy! We all perform better after a good sleep!
This winter accumulated chill hours (0C - + 7C) are adequate and slightly higher than any of the last five years.
The weather has taken a pleasant turn for the better this week, so hopefully it's 'onwards and upwards'
British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) R&D meeting 2025.
With colleagues from Niab, the BAPL research and development team hosted a full day of presentations from researchers and experts to share the latest in crop protection technologies and approaches.
More than 80 people joined in person, with a further 150 people joining via the live online webinar.
The meeting took place in Kent on 10th February 2025 and was open to members of BAPL who pay a levy to support this vital R&D work, as well as other interested parties and colleagues from Niab.
In todays world apple growers have less weapons at their disposal for dealing with troublesome pests. Ingenuity and science are the answer. The skills of scientists at NIAB and industry experts search for an environmentally safe answer.
This week The English Apple Man continues with more information from last week's BAPL Niab research meeting
Below: Rachel McGauley - Overview of how BAPL research is supporting apple and pear growers, reviewing the BAPL research programme which she manages
Overview of how BAPL research is supporting apple and pear growers (Rachel McGauley
British Apples & Pears Limited (BAPL) is a grower-funded, not-for-profit organisation that represents all commercial apple and pear growers in the UK.
BAPL activities include industry representation, government liaison, data gathering and consumer awareness raising and promotion.
The organisation also funds much-needed research and development to protect our wonderful crop. 
BAPL Board
The BAPL Niab Apples & Pears Technical Day Apple held at the NIAB EMR Mumford Building at East Malling on Monday 10th February was very informative and also very enjoyable, as the group of presenters eloquently delivered a fascinating insight into the science and technology becoming available to our apple & pear industry.
Welcoming attendees present at NIAB and via ZOOM were Ali Capper Chief Executive BAPL, NIAB Chief Executive Professor Mario Caccamo, (Hutchinsons Agronomist) Rob Saunders in his capacity as Chair of the BAPL R&D Group, Scott Raffle Senior Knowledge Exchange Manager - East Malling and Rachel McGauley, BAPL who took the lead introducing the day's speakers.
Ambition
Our ambition is for at least 60% of apples sold in the UK to be British by 2035. Today, British apples represent less than 40% of all apples sold in the UK, despite being our national fruit.
Activities
BAPL activities include industry representation, government liaison, data gathering and consumer awareness raising and promotion. The organisation also funds much-needed research and development to protect our wonderful crop. View our latest news articles for more.
British Apples & Pears is also part of Horticulture Crop Protection (HCP) Limited, which is a collaboration between all major horticulture crop associations.
In The English Apple Man Journal, I write extensively about apples, and some times 'touch on Pears' - this week we will exclusively look at pears
Utilising The British Apples and Pears (BAPL) website and the wealth of information on the history of pears, which takes us back to 2000BC as a starting point, moving on through the centuries until today and drawing on Joan Morgan's highly informative The Book of Pears and adding a bit of my own experience we will demonstrate the fruit described as: Pear as the Golden one if Apple is the Silver
Click on: The History of Pears
2000 BC
It is thought that pears originated in the Caucasus from where they spread to Europe and Asia and that they were first cultivted 4000 years ago.
PRESENT DAY
Today around 8% of all pears sold in the UK are British. Tree spacings have been reduced to increase productivity per hectare and pruning has been altered to allow more light in to trees. The most modern systems are based on plantings of 3000 trees per hectare, or more!
Feeding the needy is now a highly motivated activity. Groups across the country gather and distribute precious surplus food from Supermarkets, Farms, Food producing factories etc.
This week, The English Apple Man features City Harvest where my friend and former Executive Chair of The National Fruit Show Sarah Calcutt is CEO.
Sarah brings her 'positive energy' to her new role leading this dynamic provider of healthy food to the needy in London.
City Harvest London rescues nutritious surplus food from farms, manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers, and delivers it, for free, to over 123,000 a week via organisations feeding those facing food poverty. City Harvest rescues food, people, and the planet by preventing food waste, providing life-changing support to communities across London through food, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions from waste.
City Harvest is London's first last-mile food rescue organisation, founded in 2014 after operating for 4 years as UR4Driving project which was run by Mark Harvey and Bruce Marquart. A group of individuals, including Laura Winningham OBE (CEO), began the organisation to address high levels of unused, but perfectly edible, food surplus that was being wasted by food businesses across London.
Click on: City Harvest story and Video
Last month, the government announced a new £15 million fund to prevent thousands of tonnes of food that might otherwise go to waste be sourced and delivered to those who need it most.
Sarah Calcutt, City Harvest CEO, was interviewed on BBC Radio London about the potential benefits that the new £15m government fund could have in our mission to rescue food, people and the planet.
With an estimated 330,000 tonnes of edible food either wasted or repurposed as animal feed before leaving farm gates every year, charities like City Harvest could put this waste to better use with that redistribution process.
Across the UK, the cost-of-living crisis has created a food emergency. Currently, 1 in 5 people in London are struggling to afford to eat, yet 1/3 of all food goes to waste. City Harvest rescues nutritious food from going to waste and we need your help to get it to those communities who rely on our support.
British Apples and Pears Update 2025
Food price inflation - a warning about what to expect in 2025
Data from Andersons Farm Consulting, commissioned by British Apples & Pears, has revealed the cost of producing a kilo of apples has risen by 5.3% this year
The cost of producing a kilogramme of apples is expected to rise by 7p this year due to recent budget announcements, new analysis has revealed.
The data from Andersons Farm Consulting, commissioned by British Apples & Pears, has revealed the cost of producing a kilo of apples will rise by 5.3% from £1.33 to £1.40.
The grower group said this was directly related to recent government policy announcements around labour costs and predicted that apple and pear growers were facing a 10% increase in labour costs - which represent 50% of the total costs of producing the crop.
In the autumn budget, the government announced the National Insurance rate for employers would increase from 13.8% to 15%, while the threshold on employee earnings at which NI applies would reduce from £9,100 to £5,000.
BAP warned that food price rises in 2025 were "now an inevitable consequence of recent government policy".
"Growers' margins have been stripped to the bone, so these increases in the cost of producing British apples and pears will have to be passed on to retailers, who have already said they will have to pass on wage rises to consumers," said Ali Capper, executive chair of BAP.
"Shoppers will end up paying more for their fresh apples and pears," added Capper. "Food price inflation is a direct consequence of government policy."
This echoes similar warnings from the NFU last week. Martin Emmett, NFU horticulture and potatoes board chair, said government policy added unexpected and "very significant" extra costs on to the already struggling horticulture sector.
Emmett said some of the NFU's members were already reducing working hours to offset the additional costs, and in the most extreme cases redundancies were now being considered.
"These changes will impact growers, retailers, shoppers and could even tip the country into recession as consumer demand declines in the face of price rises," said Capper. "On top of that, growers are now facing the costs associated with the newly proposed changes to Inheritance Tax.
"The costs associated with tax planning will also have to be priced in for the future."
As another new year gets under way and in our orchards growers are busy with winter pruning, one very important role which is not highlighted enough is that of our agronomists. There are several high profile Agronomy services supporting our growers and indeed farmers in general.
In 'many years gone by - ' back in my youth, representatives of chemical supply companies would call on my father, have a chat, take a stroll in some orchards, maybe even stop for lunch or at the very least a cup of tea or coffee, all very enjoyable; "of course fruit growing was still quite profitable in those far off halcyon days (circa 60 - 70 years ago)
Today; a quarter of a century into this millennium, it is all so different. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is the Modus Operandi.
Highly trained agronomists visit growers and discuss and the plans for the coming season. Maintaining a crop free of pest and/or disease is not easy; the weapons which would have been used 70 years ago are now long gone and materials kind to the environment are the status quo.
Biologicals and predators are the way forward and need vigilant examination of pest and disease present and accurate weather forecasts to ensure the efficacy of any applications.
An increasing reliance on predictive computer software is central to the agronomists tools, more accurate weather forecasting allows more effective application of protectants against apple scab.
With new methods of pest/disease control, the regular 'crop walking' by experienced agronomists if ESSENTIAL in the production of a healthy harvest.
The English Apple Man is very lucky to be friends with many brilliant agronomists who support our fruit industry with their expertise.
Occasionally these stars of 'Agronomy' move from one team to another, and I heard this week that one of my friends has ventured to pastures new!
This page initially shows the latest journals. You can use a journal's link to view the full story.
It is now much easier to find a particular journal of interest. Just type your search terms into the search box or select the month and/or year and click Submit.
I have completed the process of reworking my entire archive of journal pages into the style of the new website to make them more accessible to users of mobile phones etc.
Although the content now adapts to the size of the display, some of the archived journals still have photographs that won't fit and so get cropped. Archived journals are best viewed on a computer screen!
