German fruit and vegetable growers expect a good harvest in 2014 overall, German website Proplanta.de reports. For asparagus, strawberries and lettuce, the season started very early this year because of the weather conditions. For apples, strawberries, cherries, plums and berries, the harvest quantity and quality is looking good to very good. The same goes for the entire range of vegetables.
Fruit harvest in detail:
With 1,036,000 tonnes, the German apple harvest will turn out around 29 percent larger than in the difficult past year, when total harvest was 804,000 tonnes. That means for apples a good, compared to the long-run average, normal harvest is to be expected. Good bloom conditions in spring, and the early vegetation start mean harvesting is expected to start about three weeks earlier than usual.
Harvesting of early apples has already started. The harvest forecast for the separate regions gives the following overview: at the Niederelbe, around 334,000 tonnes is expected (+84% compared to 2013), at Lake Constance, around 294,000 tonnes is expected (+21% compared to 2013), in Saxony/Saxony-Anhalt around 98,000 tonnes, and in the Rhineland around 41,000 tonnes.
The pear harvest in Germany is estimated to be 30,000 tonnes, 12% smaller than last year (34,000 tonnes). For sweet cherries on the other hand, the expected harvest is clearly bigger than last year, with around 43,500 tonnes (2013: 25,000 tonnes, average of the past three years: 33,000 tonnes). The morello harvest of 2014 could amount to around 20,000 tonnes. Last year's bad result (15,625 tonnes) would then be exceeded by 28 percent, but this year's result would still be below the long-run average.
For plums, one of the largest harvests of the past years is currently ripening. A harvest amount of 55,000 tonnes is expected, after nearly 50,000 tonnes in 2013.
The pear harvest in Germany is estimated to be 30,000 tonnes, 12% smaller than last year (34,000 tonnes). For sweet cherries on the other hand, the expected harvest is clearly bigger than last year, with around 43,500 tonnes (2013: 25,000 tonnes, average of the past three years: 33,000 tonnes). The morello harvest of 2014 could amount to around 20,000 tonnes. Last year's bad result (15,625 tonnes) would then be exceeded by 28 percent, but this year's result would still be below the long-run average.
For plums, one of the largest harvests of the past years is currently ripening. A harvest amount of 55,000 tonnes is expected, after nearly 50,000 tonnes in 2013.