The Summerfruit Company started marketing UK plums this week as growers began picking at their Kent orchards.
The first variety to be harvested is Opal. “We are running about seven to days behind last year with Opal,” explained the company’s Ian Waller. “It is the warm nights that have slowed fruit development, making it slower to acquire the necessary colour.”
With night-time temperatures having fallen recently, it is hoped fruit will start to colour up more quickly.
“The next variety after Opal is Jubileum which will start in about a week’s time,” said Waller. “We hope to see a speeding up in the ripening process.” But as FPJ went to press, this variety was also running late for the same reasons as Opal. And maincrop Victoria is now not due to begin harvesting for three more weeks in the last week of August.
It is still too early to tell when Marjorie Seedling will start its season as much depends on weather and temperature conditions over the month of August, but it is usually available from early September.
Weather conditions through the spring were ideal for plums and as a result fruit volumes are forecast to be broadly in line with last season. Flowering for all Opal, Victoria and Marjorie Seedling was very close, but later weather conditions seem to have ensured harvesting will overlap to cause market disruption.
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