Tuesday, 21 August 2012
The apple crop has failed
My worst fears about the apple crop are about to come true. There are a number of wild apple and crab apple trees growing near our village. I checked them this afternoon. Normally they would be sagging under the weight of fruit in August. This year, not an apple in sight. The blossom must have been wrecked by the heavy rain in April and May. And if it wasn't wrecked by the rain, the bees were stuck in the hives because of the rain, unable to get out to pollinate the blossom. This will cause big problems with our food supply. We use apples extensively in making preserves and chutneys. And of course, it is the main fruit we eat ourselves. This is bad news we could do without.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I have no idea whether these events are related. But the very same thing has happened here in my part of New Hampshire, about thirty miles inland and hard up against the Maine/New Hampshire border. A local commercial grower has a very good crop that is exposed to the identical weather, so it's an utter mystery. I suspect a dearth of wild pollinators but I have no evidence of that.
Charles Ek
Milton, New Hampshire
Post a Comment