Mansfields: 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.

About Us

Located in Kent, the Garden of England, Mansfields is one of the largest growers and packers of top, stone and soft fruit with over 35 years of experience. The family run business is the biggest UK apple grower and the largest UK cherry grower, whilst also growing pears, plums and strawberries in significant volumes. Mansfields is one of the only UK top fruit operations that is expanding both fruit production and packing facilities. The company comprises of over 3,000 acres of top fruit (dessert apples, culinary apples and pears), stone fruit (cherries and plums) and soft fruit (strawberries), which are grown on 15 locations in Kent at varied geographic locations in order to extend harvest seasons and to mitigate weather related risk. The main storage and packing site is located at Nickle Farm on the outskirts of Chartham village, six miles south of Canterbury on the A28

Corporate Social Responsibility

Mansfields seeks to recognise our responsibilities to our suppliers, customers, and staff and the way we impact on our social and physical environment. We have adopted a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy (CSR) to position ourselves as a leading company in the provision of English fruit that meets the very high social and environmental expectations of our customers. Our CSR strategy details our visions, governance, structure and management systems and our key targets and objectives. We have set objectives and targets against our key environmental, social and economic priorities.