The 2026 apple harvest is expected to start in the first week of September at Adrian Scripps, in Kent, England. The area has seen sporadic hail as well as very high temperatures in the last few months, both of which may have an impact on the crop.

“We expect Gala to begin in the first week of September, probably no later than the 7th,” said James Simpson, Managing Director at Adrian Scripps. “Early varieties such as Red Windsor will begin in about three weeks. Bramley for long term store will begin in the first week of September, although we believe some early sites may well start in the last week of August, around the 26th.”

The timing of the harvest is similar to other years; James expects some early-season varieties to be a little early, but later-season varieties to be around the normal harvest time.

© African Scripps

Weather issues
Hail has been sporadic across Kent and, combined with the frost, some growers have seen very difficult early-season growing conditions.

“We have not been immune to either of these things, but have only been affected to a small extent. Fruit set was initially good, so we had good fruit numbers at the outset. This was supported by good temperatures, and therefore we hope for good cell division to help size development. Water has obviously been an issue, and whilst we have irrigation in all of our orchards, the lack of rain will have some impact.”

Storage potential
“At the moment we expect storage potential to be very good, although the continuing warm weather may have some impact; we are not concerned about the quality of fruit. We expect very good eating quality and flavour as well as good storage potential.

“We are able to supply dessert apples and Bramley year-round if a customer requires it. This is through the selection of varieties and clones as well as the most advanced storage technology. We specifically select orchards during the growing season, some for tree ripe fruit and some for year-round supply. The nutrition programme is developed to support both.”

© African Scripps

Additional volumes to come
“On our own farms we are currently running with about 300ha allocated to top fruit. We have quite a few young orchards still not in full production, so have an uplift in our volume to come. We will add some new orchards over the next few years, but much of this will be replacement of older orchards we have already removed.

“By area, Gala and Braeburn are the main varieties we grow, but we are also the UK’s largest grower of Pink Lady® (Cripps Pink®), Kanzi® and Red Prince®.”

Data collection
“Our focus at the moment is directed at data collection in the orchard, looking at fruit counting and size measurement. With this, we are working with two suppliers of camera scanning systems in our orchards.”

For more information:
James Simpson
Adrian Scripps Ltd
Tel: +44 1892 832406
[email protected]
www.adrianscripps.co.uk