Cool weather during the growing season has made for good colouring on Ontario's apple crop this season. That same weather, however, could also lead to a slightly lighter crop.
“This is one of the best seasons in terms of quality,” said Marius Botden, President of Binkley Apples in Ontario. “I've never seen such good colour on apples, and the brix levels are coming on really good.” He cited mild weather for the good development on fruit. With lots of cool nights, the abundance of chilling hours has contributed to good colouring on fruit. Though quality is looking exceptionally good, this year's volume could be less than that from the previous season.
“Overall, in Ontario, I think volume could be five to 10 percent less than what it was last year,” said Botden. “I think the cooler weather in some regions is the reason for that.” This year's growing season got off to a slow start, with the bloom delayed by about three weeks. But the fruit matured quickly as the season progressed, and the start of this year's harvest, which began earlier this month, was only about two days behind schedule.
Good quality of fruit could be an especially important advantage this year for Ontario's growers, as large crops in different parts of the United States could make for stiff competition.
“There's competition from outside of Canada, from Washington, that will come in,” said Botden. “But consumers are focused on buying local, and we focus on newer varieties. The old varieties could have low prices, but there will still be strong prices for the new ones.”
For more information:
Marius Botden
Binkley Apples
+1 519 599 2125