Crop thinning

One of the commonly used tree management practices is thinning of the fruit. The general purpose of the thinning is to improve fruit size and quality- the removal of fruit allows for the elimination of small, damaged and malformed fruits. In some instances fruit thinning aids the prevention of irregular cropping year on year. The amount of fruit removed off the trees depends on the season and the crop load but in some cases it can be up to 50% on plums and 30% apples . This will reduce the overall crop load and obtain the highest quality and volume of marketable fruit produced within the optimum size profile.

Life is a bowl of cherries... from Mansfields

22 June 2007

The summer fruit season is ripening and our first cherries are nearly upon us. The crop load is the best we have produced so far, some varieties have thinned naturally, allowing the surviving cherries to grow larger.
Careful pickers will hand pick the darkest cherries, which are the sweetest and juiciest, full of fruity flavour, and they’ll just get bigger and sweeter as the season progresses.
Washed and freshly eaten out of the hand is the best way to enjoy them- the closer to home you buy them, the better you will “savour their flavour”!


Did you know?

Cherries are believed to be native to Asia Minor, the earliest known mention of cherries is by the Greek botanist Theophrastus about 300 BC, although it is believed to have been cultivated even earlier than this time. The Romans carried cherries throughout Europe and England along the routes of conquest during the first century AD.

Residue minimisation approach at Mansfields

15 June 2006

Mansfields are dedicated to seek ways to reducing environmental risks and reliance on pesticides. One of our aims is to reduce pesticide use and minimise residues by following the principles of Integrated Crop Management (ICM). ICM is a cropping strategy in which growers aim to conserve and enhance the environment whilst producing safe and wholesome food commercially.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a part of ICM and involves developing pest control strategies based on environmental control, biocontrol and the use of physical and chemical control agents. Much work has been done by Mansfields to keep the residues to a minimum and now we have conducted a residue free trial in one of our orchards growing Cox, Gala and Russet.
We are aiming to achieve residue free fruit by using the following methods:
1. Autumn applications in combination with a good husbandry like mowing or pulverising after leaf fall to facilitate rapid breakdown of leaves and other orchard litter- this should provide a good control of over-wintering pests and diseases
2. Scab and mildew programme through to petal fall, then reliance on organic compounds
3. Crop monitoring and timed insecticides- we are using pheromone traps to monitor the flight of Codling, Summer Fruit Tortrix and Fruit Tree Tortrix moths, to determine when the threshold for spraying is reached

Crop and Weather Summary

May 2007

We needed rain and we certainly got it in May- approximately 105mm in the South East! According to the Met Office in May there was well above average rainfall across the majority of the UK, with some parts of the country experiencing over 200% of average May rainfall. The weather changed during the second week with dull cold spells and temperatures as low as 10°C during the night. This has not been good for the crop set on apples and pears and the crop has not set as much as we thought. Nevertheless the trees look healthy and should produce good crop. Strawberries are going strong with a high percentage of first class fruit. Cherries are still hanging on and it will not be until mid June before we can say with confidence that they will remain. As for the plums, we are expecting a full crop on Opal and Victoria varieties, and will be thinning in June

Owl boxes

As a part of our environmental strategy we manage our farms to promote the wildlife. One of our objectives is to encourage raptor and owl species by maintaining thicker grass cover along the field margins and the fallow land. Our first owl box has been erected at Waddenhall Farm and we are expecting our first residents. During the summer we are planning to site several more boxes over the holdings.

Partridge in a pear tree… but not at Christmas