As summer gets underway, horticulture continues to attract its share of the headlines. Indeed some subjects never seem to go away.

Our berry fruit industry is enjoying a boom time because of the increasing number of excellent varieties that both taste and look good. Nevertheless, there has been another tremor at a time when strawberry growers are looking forward to the peak sales period associated with Wimbledon.

This time it comes from Conservative MP and shadow agriculture spokesman, Bill Wiggin, who appears to have taken up the baton from Monty Don bemoaning the fact that the countryside is being ruined by plastic tunnels, and who is in effect calling for a shorter season. Personally, I hope that FPJ will forward him a questionnaire similar to that sent to Monty Don requesting justification of his views, particularly given his parliamentary role that should lean towards protecting the industry.

The outburst is perhaps more worrying as fruit growing has now become involved in the world of politics. Wiggin wants full planning permission for plastic tunnels. But when this issue is debated it is bound to attract more hazy reasons and inaccurate claims from a variety of additional sources to confuse the consumer even further.

The fact that both British Summer Fruits and the National Farmers’ Union have been at the sharp end of an instant rebuttal is to be commended, although it also brings into focus the fact that the Fresh Produce Consortium has failed to add its weight.

At least taking a wider view I suppose the industry should be grateful that the general use of plastic has not raised the temperature even more. Indeed, many of the British who decant to Spain on holiday are highly critical of the covered landscapes in Almeria and Murcia. These are apparently so large that they can be identified from outer space.

With the FPJ carrying a special supplement on tomatoes this week, I am reminded of a time when another industry was in the firing line, but this time on a European scale.

It was a time when tomatoes grown under glass throughout Europe were much maligned, and growers were facing similar environmental protests to those of today.

The difference, however, was that while “factory farming” was a much-used phrase, it was the actual varieties that were under attack. I was in Holland when a major supermarket buyer even told the industry through the Central Bureau of Dutch Auctions that if there were not a step change in its quality it would lose the UK market.

Today the furore appears to have passed while the British, to their credit, also represent a substantial share of summer sales.

In fact, choice has almost moved to the other extreme. Apart from the segmentation into salad, cherry, vine, beef, plum and other sub-categories, the consumer could even claim to be swamped for choice through the ever-widening range of added-value, named fruit.

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