The BAPL research and development team will again be hosting its annual R&D meeting on 10th February 2026 in the Mumford Building at Niab East Malling, Kent.
Following the success of last year’s collaboration, this year’s event is again being hosted jointly with Niab.
BAPL members will be given priority booking for in-person tickets until 12th January. Members are strongly encouraged to book before this date.
Booking for non-BAPL members to attend in person will then open for any tickets which remain after 19th January.
Booking for virtual attendance will not be limited and is open to all.
If anyone booking an in-person ticket is unable to attend they should immediately inform admin@britishapplesandpears.co.uk so that their space can be allocated to someone else. No-shows create waste and could deprive someone else of the day’s learning
The R&D meeting will brief apple and pear growers on the latest research projects funded by their subscriptions. These projects target some of the sector’s most pressing production challenges. Speakers will include industry leaders, scientists from Niab and agronomists sharing practical insights to help growers implement new techniques on farm.
Topics this year will span crop protection, pest and disease management, precision orchard technology and orchard sustainability. Specifically:
- Innovations in apple scab and canker control
- Emerging strategies for managing apple blossom weevil
- Season-long control of priority pests
- Enhancing biological control of woolly apple aphid
- Precision orchard management for environmental benefits
- Advances in measuring soil health
- How grower funds are enabling new plant protection products through Horticulture Crop Protection Ltd
There is space for 80 delegates to attend in person at the Niab site. A live virtual connection will be offered to those unable to travel to the Kent location.
For more information about BAPL’s R&D activities, visit our R&D page.
Agenda
09:45 Arrive and coffee
Session 1: Technical Strategy for Apples and Pears
10:10 Welcome – Mario Caccamo (Niab), Rob Saunders (BAPL Technical Committee)
10:15 BAPL update – Ali Capper (BAPL)
10:30 Place-based innovation for horticulture, with national impact – Simon Barnes (GKM)
10:45 Overview of how BAPL research supports apple and pear growers – Rachel McGauley (BAPL)
10:55 Crop Protection for British Apples and Pears: the good, the bad and the potential – Simon Conway & Carlos Duarte (HCP Ltd)
11:15 Comfort break
Session 2: Disease Control
11:35 A whole-orchard approach to managing apple canker – Matevz Papp-Rupar (Niab)
12:15 Improving resilience in scab control – Jonathan Blackman (Hutchinsons)
12:35 Scab resistance – Don Pendergrast (Agrii)
12:50 Lunch
Session 3: Pest Control
13:50 Season-long control of priority pests – Alex Radu (Agrovista)
14:10 Novel strategies for management of apple blossom weevil – Sarah Arnold (Niab)
14:25 Augmenting the apple canopy with earwigs to enhance woolly apple aphid control – Michelle Fountain (Niab)
14:40 Update on invasive pests and new ant baits for rosy apple aphid control – Francis Wamonje (Niab)
15:00 Comfort break
Session 4: Living Orchards
15:20 Arboricrop – Graham Dow (Niab)
15:35 POME: Precision orchard management for the environment – Charles Whitfield (Niab)
15:50 Holistic biological soil health – Flora O’Brien (Niab)
16:00 Close