Dutch apple and pear harvests below estimates

This year’s Dutch apple harvest is smaller than last year’s. The pear harvest, however, is larger. Both harvests fell short of last summer’s expectations. Prolonged drought slowed fruit development, particularly in the southern growing regions. Rain later in the season helped the fruit grow further. The impact varied by variety.

This is according to information from GroentenFruit Huis and the Nederlandse Fruittelers Organisatie (NFO). The revised figures are based on extensive sampling, with measurements taken during picking.

Fewer apples, more pears

Dutch growers harvested a total of 188 million kilograms of apples this year. That is 20 percent less than a year earlier. In July, the organizations had projected an 18 percent decline.

This year’s pear harvest totals 382 million kilograms. That is 6 percent more than a year earlier. In July, the organizations had expected a 10 percent increase.

Drought slows fruit growth

The final weeks of the growing season help determine the final yield. An adequate water supply is essential for fruit development during this period. Prolonged drought and high temperatures made growing conditions difficult this summer. Growers in some regions also faced hail damage.

The rain in the second half of August came at a good time for many growers. At the start of picking, Elstar apples and Conference pears had relatively low fruit weights. The rainfall helped increase fruit weight later in the picking season. On average, however, the fruit remained smaller than expected in July.

The harvest estimate for Elstar was lowered from 77 to 69 million kilograms. For Conference, the estimate was reduced from 299 to 288 million kilograms.

Later varieties benefit from rain

The later-harvested Jonagold apples and Doyenné du Comice pears benefited from rain in August and September. Better fruit growth led to slight upward revisions in their harvest estimates.

The final Jonagold harvest is 18 percent smaller than last year’s. In July, the expected decline was still 20 percent. For Doyenné du Comice, the decline is limited to 3 percent. A 7 percent decline had previously been projected for this pear variety.

Groentenfruithuis.nl