Apple growth hits a pause in the Annapolis Valley as drought threatens fruit and trees

The ongoing drought is delaying apple picking in Nova Scotia.

What began as a promising growing season in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley is starting to wither away.

Fruit was sizing up nicely in the early summer, but weeks of drought has stalled the growth of apples in many orchards.

“We haven’t had rain for what? Through three months. The last six weeks or so I would say that the apples have stopped growing,” says farmer Peter Elderkin.

The colour of the fruit isn’t progressing either. Sunny days, cool nights and rain are needed for them to turn red before they can be sent to market.

“The regulations for selling apples through wholesale, through retail demand, certain colors, certain requirements for that,” Elderkin says.

If it’s not the fruit that’s suffering, it’s the tree they’re growing on as some are shrivelling up as they try to reclaim moisture. A number of young trees on Sam Lutz’s farm are beyond saving.

“Probably a couple hundred trees per acre, maybe 15 to 20 per cent of our trees in this block,” says Lutz.

As the tree dies, years of care put into it is lost.

“Even if the tree does survive, we don’t expect it to crop much next year, but more likely these trees are going to be shut down and have to be replaced next year,” says Lutz.

“It’s obviously the loss of this crop and now the four or five years we’ve invested in the growth of this tree up until this point is kind of wasted.”

There is still some hope the late season varieties of apples can be salvaged but that will depend on getting some regular rain over the next couple weeks.

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