The pair manage 160 acres of orchard at Teynham near Faversham. Their photo will feature on posters and shelf-barkers at all 136 branches of the store as part of the promotion of its fruit.

'This is the first year that Waitrose has sold organic English Discovery apples,' said a spokeswoman. And the Moors are the store's only suppliers of the line, being marketed both loose and in pre-packed configurations.

Their 270 tonne crop was harvested in just two weeks and fruit is expected to be in store for another two weeks.

'The English Discovery apple is particularly well suited to the deep soil we have here,' said Nicholas Moor. 'It's a variety which lends itself well to organic production because it is semi-resistant to fungal diseases.' The Moors began the conversion process from conventional to organic production in 1999 – therefore this year is their first fully organic crop of the variety. They also produce a range of other apple varieties and pears and 75 per cent of the farm has now been switched over to organic production methods.

John Moor's grandfather Donald James Moor bought the farm in 1923 and was a pioneer of modern fruit growing, converting the business from vegetables. He was one of the first growers in the UK to grow Discovery commercially.

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