15 February 2023 – Experts have warned that climate change could spell the end of the british apple as it might be no longer viable to grow them in future.
Old british apple varieties, such as pippin or nonpareil, have been grown in the UK since the 1500s. They are beloved by apple lovers up and down the country.
But now scientists at the Roayl Botanical Gardens at Kew warn that these old apple varieties might die out if climate change is not stopped.
If that happens, they will likely be replaced by varieties from New Zealand or Japan.
Winters Too Warm For The British Apple
Our British apples are dormant over the winter period, when they conserve energy. Then in spring, the trees use this energy to grow leaves, flowers and fruit.
The energy they store during the winter period is just enough to get started in spring, so it is important that they don’t use any of this energy beforehand.
But these apple trees need the right conditions to lie dormant. This means the right winter temperatures.
Classic English apples need about 1,000 “chilling hours” below 6°C but above freezing. As our climate gets warmer, our winters get warmer. This means that there aren’t enough “chilling hours” for our apples available.
If our winter temperatures are above 6°C, the trees have to respire. This uses up energy, which they then don’t have for spring.
The lack of energy in spring results in fewer apples.
According to the Met Office, 2022 has been the UK’s hottest year on record. For the first time, the average temperature over the year was over 10°C.
This is bad news for our traditional apple trees. And scientists at the Met Office predict that we could get average temperatures above 10°C most years in the future.
We also used climate models to project how often this sort of temperature could be recorded in the future. It was possible to calculate that by the end of the century, under a medium emissions scenario (SSP2-4.5), a UK average temperature of 10°C could occur almost every year.
Dr Nikos Christidis, Climate Attribution Scientist at the Met Office
This could make growing classic British apples no longer viable, which means we are likely to lose these old, traditional varieties, such as Egremont russet, nonpareil and Cox’s orange pippin.
And it’s not just apples that are affected either. Any plant that needs “chilling hours” to stay dormant during winter will struggle as the climate gets warmer.
Other fruits in danger are pears, raspberries and blackcurrants.
New Varieties To Replace Old Favourites
In order for UK growers to continue to grow apples in this country, new varieties that will work with the changed climate need to be found.
Scientists at Kew are undertaking a research project to find out which apple varieties could replace the traditional British varieties.
They will plant 40 apple trees at Kew. These will be different varieties with different needs. A third will be British heritage varieties, which used to be grown in Kew’s Georgian kitchen gardens.
Another third will consist of new varieties that don’t need such cold winters, such as the New Zealand Gala and the Fuji apple from Japan.
The final third are apple tree varieties from warmer countries, such as South Africa, to see if they are viable in the current climate of the UK.
The scientist will compare the different varieties to see which one, if any, will be able to cope well with our winters.
We could find out that we don’t get a dry enough winter for these varieties. So this is why it’s an experiment, because South Africa doesn’t have the wet weather that we have. So it’s going to be whether they’ve got low chill hours and can cope with the amount of rain.
Helena Dove, who runs Kew’s kitchen garden
While it is not yet clear which variety will come out on top, the gala from New Zealand and the Fuji from Japan are expected to do well.
The gala only needs 600 “chilling hours”, which is more like what the UK currently gets during winter.
The Fuji needs even less, with only 400 hours of cold weather needed. As such, it’s much better equipped for the milder winters that we now get.
But while these new varieties could be the answer for growers in the UK, there are drawbacks. We will lose the taste of our traditional apples.
The gala is crisp and jucy, but it has been criticised for the lack of complex, floral flavours our English apples have.
The Fuji is super sweet, and is said to taste more like bottled apple juice. While many will like that, especially children, others will find them too sweet.
Climate change can sometimes feel like it doesn’t impact on our lives directly. But this story shows that it will have consequences that we will see and feel in our daily lives.
