The first thing I would like to make quite clear is that I am all in favour of planting trees, be it on the international scale of trying to rebuild what is left of the tropical rainforest, the ongoing reforestation vital to the soft wood industry, or simply digging a hole in the garden to grow any type of fruit tree.

That said, this week’s headline-grabbing announcement from the National Trust of a campaign to replant and renovate our orchards may have excited the public imagination - but, in my view, has little if any connection with the realities of commercial fruit production.

The fact that many press reports also clouded the issue by concentrating on non-edible cider varieties with delightful names did not help matters.

I would certainly accept the sad fact that “60 per cent of traditional orchards in England have vanished since 1950“, but the reasons for it are far more complex than suggested.

First, the National Trust quantifies this type of traditional orchard - and I again quote - “as having at least five fruit trees, which are widely spaced and have been allowed to reach a veteran-hollowed and gnarled stage”.

With the pressures on quality and yield in this day and age, the life of most commercial fruit tree varieties is about 15 years. Our growers, who are certainly as environment-friendly as the National Trust, plant at a density that can be measured in hundreds and would have cleared such ageing stumps as part of their replacement programmes years ago.

Second, the reason why there has been such a fall-off in surface area is, in the main, because many of our traditional varieties have simply become uncommercial.

I was the first journalist to travel to France to see the forthcoming Golden Delicious explosion when Algerian settlers arrived in the south of the country. And before anyone says the variety is not as good as Cox, there was a time when French fruit - bought firm, rather than on commission - was coming into the UK at a rate of more than 200,000 tonnes a year, so on this scale the public was actually welcoming it.

Time has moved on and with it has come the arrival of the first Gala and Braeburn apples, now grown in volume in the UK in response to public demand. These are being followed by the next generation of varieties, such as Kanzi, Cameo, Rubens and many more.

Why I would support the National Trust initiative, however, is because apart from providing support for wildlife, it recognises and supports the value of our heritage where these orchards, which are being subject to a survey, are in fact not just a welcome addition to the countryside but are actually living museums.

And at the end of it all, if it turns out to be more than just a scheme which, like a comet, flashes briefly across the firmament, it could even encourage everyone to eat more fruit - English, of course!

Topics