NorraSkåne (link to Swedish website). Yields are high because of the warm summer, although some rain is required in the next few weeks for a truly great harvest. According to prognoses, the Swedish growers will harvest more than 15 million kilos of apples. Last year was a fair year, but this year, circumstances were optimal for both flowering and pollination. “The trees are heavy with apples, so we’re hoping for a good harvest. However, the weather will be a decisive factor in that in the next few weeks. A lot of our growers have irrigation systems, but it was difficult to compensate for the extremely dry weather of last summer. Growth wasn’t as optimal because of this,” says Henrik Stridh, manger of Äppelriket. The earliest variety, Discovery, is picked in the next few weeks, but many of the apples are less than 65 millimetres in diameter, which is normally considered to be the minimum size. “The ideal apple has a diameter of 65 to 80 millimetres. When apples are smaller, fewer customers will buy them.”
After Discovery, it’s Aroma’s turn. This is followed by Cox Orange, Ingrid Marie and the other varieties. The harvest lasts until November. “The trees have a lot of apples, and if we were now to get some rain, prospects would be very good. Apples would definitely grow considerably, particularly in places with heavier soil. An apple with good root pressure, plenty of water and food can grow up to four millimetres per week, and that’s important when every millimetre counts.”
“In recent years, we planted a lot of new trees. This investment is now starting to bear fruit,” Henrik says. “Our goal is to get more Swedish apples in stores. Right now, we’re at about 30 per cent, and we would like to increase this to 40 or 45 per cent. Responses from trade and consumers are very positive. A lot of people prefer Swedish apples when they’re in stock. We do have to make sure to guarantee quality throughout the year.”
There were relatively few problems regarding damages from insects and moulds. More towards the north of the country, the apple fruit moth caused quite a bit of damage, but the commercial orchards in the south of Sweden weren’t affected by this.
Worries about the future
Svenska YleGustav grows his apples on about five or six hectares. Per hectare, he can harvest about 20 tonnes of apples of different varieties. “We’re expecting a clearly better harvest than last year. We just have to wait and see what the shelf life will be in autumn,” he says. He mostly supplies his apples to local trade, and to that end, he’s working on the installation of a new sorting line.