North Rhine-Westphalia harvest as good as in 2014

The harvest of apple species Elstar and Gala is well underway in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia informs us that this year’s harvest is expected to be as good as last year. However, across all of Germany they are counting on a harvest quantity of around 885,000 tons – which corresponds to a 21 percent decrease compared to last year’s record harvest, and an eight percent decrease to the average of the last three years.

As reason for the lesser harvest or the oscillations in the fruit yield of some species can be named, the so-called alternation. This means that trees carry a lot of fruit one year and in doing this, overspend their resources, causing them to bear less fruit the year after. This problem is more pronounced in some species than others. Species like Elstar and Boskoop are susceptible to the alternation.

The early species Delbarestivale and Alkmene have already been harvested. Elstar and Gala are currently being picked. Boskoop and Jonagold are to follow at the end of September, which are especially good for cooking and applesauce. Store varieties Pinova, Fuji and Braeburn form the conclusion of the season.

A special feature in Westphalia-Lippe is 20 apple plantations where consumers can pick their own apples. Picking your own apples is very popular among consumers. The fruit growers make tools available such as crates, orchard sledges and transport carts, which make the harvest easier. In this manner, customers can cheaply pick larger quantities.

In North Rhine-Westphalia, apples are being grown on about 1,800 hectares; in federal territory this is 30,000 hectares. The main growing areas in Germany are at Lake Constance and in the Altes Land at the gates of Hamburg. The apple is the favorite fruit of the Germans: over two million tons of apples are being consumed in Germany on a yearly basis. This corresponds to a consumption of 30 kilograms pro capita. About half of this comes from domestic production. Fruit growing companies, that offer apples from own cultivation or make their fruit plantations open to picking one’s own apples can be found here.

Source: www.landwirtschaftskammer.de