This year's apple harvest in Poland may amount to about 2.85 million tonnes; about 30 percent less than last year, while the pear harvest may be 40 percent lower than in 2016, reaching about 40 thousand tonnes, as predicted by Professor Eberhard Makosz, President of the Society for the Promotion of Dwarf Fruit Orchards.
Professor Makosz believes that if favourable weather conditions for apple cultivation are recorded by the end of September, the harvest will likely exceed 3 million tonnes.
Last year, there was a record high apple harvest. According to the Central Statistical Office of Poland (GUS), the orchard production was estimated at 3.604 million tonnes, i.e. 14.6% greater than the already big harvest of the previous year.
Similarly, in the case of pears, the harvest obtained from pear orchards amounted to about 81.5 thousand tonnes, i.e. 23.8% more than in 2015 and definitely more compared to previous years.
Makosz claims that this is the first forecast for the apple and pear production in 2017, based on information from 52 apple and pear producers and 10 expert and orchard advisers.
According to the professor, an accurate estimation of the harvest is still difficult to make, as the extent of the losses caused by spring frosts varies greatly depending on the orchard.
Source: biznes.onet.pl
