00:00Red, ripe and juicy, that's what the apples at Brogdale Farm this year should have been
00:06like.
00:06The farm here is home to the National Fruit Collection, growing thousands of different
00:11varieties of apples.
00:13The climate the county has faced recently has led to significant changes in the farm's
00:19yield.
00:20We have no irrigation whatsoever, so we're 100% reliant on water in terms of rainfall.
00:27What that means is the fruit doesn't size up, so we had a higher percentage of smaller
00:32sized fruit than normal, so in terms of what we call our initial crop estimate, we're most
00:39probably down in estimate by about 15% of what we anticipated we'd pick.
00:46It's apples like these ones here that have been impacted by the high temperatures and
00:50the drought that Kent has seen this year.
00:53They've changed in size, they've been sun scorched, and the picking window for them
00:58was shorter as well.
00:59So why is climate change causing these effects?
01:02We used to have different periods of time for winter, spring, autumn and summer as well,
01:10so we know exactly what to grow in certain times.
01:13But because of the climate change, obviously it changes all the weather cycle, and that
01:20actually disrupts the production of the crops itself, and that means it's actually not allowing
01:27the farmers to produce as much as they used to produce before the climate change happens.
01:33According to Neil, the best conditions for growing apples here in Kent is having good soil, rain
01:40through to picking season, and warm weather in May when cell division inside an apple occurs.
01:45But he's worried about the future of Brogdale's apples if this climate continues.
01:51What happens is, as if we go out in the sun, without any sun cream on, we get sun burnt,
01:57exactly the same happens to the fruit.
01:59So there's several things that need to be looked at going forward, whether it's irrigation or hail netting,
02:05or you can actually spray a white material, kaolin clay, which is a naturally occurring product on the fruit to
02:12reduce the amount of sun scorched.
02:14The team at Brogdale Farm are now getting ready for next year's harvest, and are hoping for a more prosperous
02:20season soon.
02:21Justine Larta, for KMTV, in Brogdale.
