vid test - British Apples & Pears

Why do apple growers deliberately remove apples from their trees?

Filmed in July at ACH Farming, this video takes us into a British apple orchard during summer thinning. Amy and farm manager Paul explain how growers decide which fruit stays on the tree and which is removed.

From smaller fruit and hail damage to the number of apples growing in each cluster, thinning helps growers manage the crop so the remaining apples can develop to a good size and quality ahead of harvest.

🍎 In this video:
• Why apple trees are thinned during summer
• How growers decide which apples to remove
• Why smaller or damaged fruit may be taken off
• How many apples growers aim to leave in each cluster
• How orchard teams carry out thinning across the trees

This footage was filmed in July 2026 and captures an important stage in the growing season, before the apples had reached the size you'll see closer to harvest.

This video forms part of our How British Apples Are Grown series, taking you behind the scenes of British orchards and showing the work that goes into producing high-quality British apples throughout the year.

🍎 Subscribe for more videos from British apple and pear growers and follow the journey from blossom to harvest.

📺 Watch the full How British Apples Are Grown playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/@GreatBritishApples/playlists

🌳 Find out more about British apples and pears:
https://www.britishapplesandpears.co.uk/

#BritishApples #AppleGrowing #OrchardWatch

Why Do Apple Growers Remove Apples - Summer Thinning Explained

How do British apple growers keep orchards healthy during increasingly hot, dry summers?

David Hinchliffe from Newhouse Farm in Kent explains how precision drip irrigation delivers water directly to the roots of Gala apple trees, helping the orchard use every drop effectively.

Water is pumped from an 85-metre-deep borehole into a holding tank before being distributed throughout the 10-hectare orchard. A water meter records exactly how much is used, while the targeted irrigation system avoids unnecessarily watering the orchard alleyways.

David also demonstrates how fertigation allows fertiliser to be delivered through the irrigation system directly into the trees’ root zones. This supports the crop during prolonged dry periods without relying on rainfall to wash traditionally spread fertiliser into the soil.

🍎 In this video:
• Drip irrigation in a British apple orchard
• How growers conserve water
• Growing Gala apples during dry summers
• Precision irrigation and fertigation
• Sustainable British apple production
• How orchard boreholes are used

This video forms part of our How British Apples Are Grown series, taking you behind the scenes of British orchards and showing how growers produce high-quality apples from blossom through to harvest.

🍎 Subscribe for more videos from British apple and pear growers.

📺 Watch the full How British Apples Are Grown playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgtPipF3fIs&list=PLVNebS9NmOgE&pp=sAgC

🌳 Discover more about British apples and pears:
https://www.britishapplesandpears.co.uk/

#BritishApples #AppleOrchard #DripIrrigation

How British Apple Growers Save Water with Drip Irrigation

How do growers keep track of the insects living around their orchards? 🐝🌼

In this video, Amy from ACH Farming explains how a Flower-Insect Timed (FIT) Count helps monitor the insects visiting wildflower strips beside British apple orchards.

By spending just 10 minutes observing a patch of flowers, growers can build a picture of pollinator activity and beneficial insects throughout the season. Repeating these counts helps track changes over time and provides valuable information to support orchard management.

🍎 In this video:
• What a FIT Count is
• Why growers monitor insects
• Ox-eye daisies and wildflower strips
• Pollinators and beneficial insects
• Biodiversity in British orchards
• How British apples are grown

This video forms part of our How British Apples Are Grown series, taking you behind the scenes of British orchards and showing how growers produce high-quality apples throughout the year.

🍎 Subscribe for more videos from British apple and pear growers and discover how apples are grown from blossom to harvest.

📺 Watch the full How British Apples Are Grown playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/@GreatBritishApples/playlists

🌳 Find out more about British apples and pears:
https://www.britishapplesandpears.co.uk

What Is a FIT Count? Monitoring Insects Around British Apple Orchards #backbritishfarming

Why are British apple growers pruning trees in the middle of summer?
It might look unusual, but summer pruning helps let more sunlight into the tree, especially the top of the canopy.

More light means the apples can develop more evenly, improving colour and helping produce the high-quality British apples you'll find in the shops later in the season.

This work also makes it easier for the thinning team to remove excess fruit, allowing the tree to focus its energy on producing the best possible crop.

Summer pruning can be done by hand (using hand held or electric secateurs) or can be automated using a hedge cutter as in this video.

Tractor helps with summer pruning in a British apple orchard #shorts #britishfarming

Most people wouldn't expect birds to be a serious challenge for apple and pear growers.But during long periods of dry weather, large flocks of rooks and crows can cause significant damage to orchards. In these conditions, they are drawn to the fruit as a source of moisture, pecking at apples and pears to access the juice inside.

Every peck damages the fruit, meaning it can no longer be sold. Growers use bird scarers to try and deter them, but when hundreds of birds arrive at once, it's incredibly difficult to prevent losses.It's one of the many challenges that come with growing British apples and pears that often goes unnoticed. Thankfully this activity is highly unusual and most of this season's British apples and pears are developing beautifully!

Hot weather prompts rooks and crows to descend on British apple orchard #shorts #britishfarming

Ever wondered why apple growers pay attention to ants in their orchards? 🍎

In this video, David Hinchliffe from Newhouse Farm in Kent explains how ants can reveal the presence of rosy apple aphids and why growers closely monitor beneficial insects throughout the growing season.

Learn how aphids affect developing apple trees, why weather conditions influence pest populations, and how beneficial insects such as ladybirds, parasitic wasps and ants all play a role in orchard ecology.

This video forms part of our How British Apples Are Grown series, taking you behind the scenes of British orchards and showing how growers produce high-quality apples throughout the year.

🍎 Subscribe for more videos from British apple and pear growers and discover how they are grown from blossom to harvest.

📺 Watch the full How British Apples Are Grown playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/@GreatBritishApples/playlists

🌳 Find out more about British apples and pears:
https://www.britishapplesandpears.co.uk

#BritishApples #AppleGrowing #BritishFarming

Why Ants Appear In British Apple Orchards

Not everything that grows in a British orchard is a fruit...

Take a look beneath the rows of these British Kissabel apple trees growing at A Hinge & Sons and you'll find a thriving community of wildflowers, including beautiful ox-eye daisies.

These flowers do far more than brighten up the orchard. They provide food and habitat for pollinators and beneficial insects, helping to support the wider ecosystem that British apple growers work hard to encourage.

Healthy orchards are about much more than apples alone. From bees and hoverflies to ladybirds and butterflies, biodiversity plays an important role in creating resilient, productive growing environments.
Next time you bite into a British apple, remember there's a whole world of wildlife helping to make it possible.

Wildflowers growing in British apple orchards to attract pollinators and predators #nature #shorts

Despite the challenges facing British fruit growers, investment in the future of home-grown produce continues.

At Stevens Farm in Hawkhurst, David and Richard Budd have just planted 17,000 new Braeburn apple trees across 6.5 hectares. Using a specialist planting machine and a team of four operatives, they were able to establish 4,000-5,000 trees per day.

These trees won't produce a crop overnight. Planting decisions like this are long-term investments that require confidence, commitment and a belief in the future of British apples and pears.

Every new orchard planted today is an investment in the future of British food security, helping ensure more of the apples and pears eaten in the UK can be grown right here at home.

Planting new British apple trees #shorts #tractor

Ever wondered what happens before a British apple reaches the shelf?

Thanks to footage from AC Goatham & Son, you can follow the journey through the packhouse!

Grading, packing and quality checks, every apple goes through a carefully managed process before making its way to stores across the UK.

A lot happens before that first crunch.

What happens to a British apple before it reaches the supermarket shelf #shorts