This year again, we risk having a small crop of apples in the Creuse. Picking is about to begin for the varieties the earliest. According to the AOP Pomme du Limousin, the good news is that this year, the fruits are quite pretty. But the bad news is that between the April frost and the summer drought, production is not huge. The organization expects a loss of volume of 30 to 40%compared to a normal year.
An exceptional year at the Verger de la Salle
In the town of Chauchet near Gouzon, the Salle orchard open their doors this Thursday, August 25 from 10 a.m. Anyone who wants to come picking fruits or buy juices are welcome. “All apples are picked by hand. We weigh the crates at the entrance to the orchard, people pick what they want, and we weigh them at the exit to determine the price.“, explains Jean-François Giraud, co-manager.
It’s a very nice activity, 99% of people are smiling
The apple grower is also smiling this year. Its production looks very good. : ” the apples are very beautiful, very large, very fruity. They had a lot of sun so full of vitamins. It is a very very beautiful harvest, even if it is not very voluminous“, he explains. Jean-François Giraud considers that he did not have any so beautiful fruits for five years.
– Camille Andre
Thanks to various equipment, the orchard of La Salle escaped the spring frost.
After the frost, some believe they have saved the furniture
In Bénévent-l’Abbaye, Hervé Gorse, the manager of the Grand-Murat orchard, expects to reach around 70% of output of a normal year. Hit by frost in April, the farmer nevertheless considers himself lucky. At the time he thought the damage would be much worse. All her flowers had frozen.
Fortunately some of the apple trees have blossomed again and were therefore able to bear fruit. “The caliber may be a little lower and there is almost no Golden, but sincerely on the day of frost, I was far from thinking that we would have such a harvest“, he declares. The Grand Murat orchard will open its doors on Saturday, September 3.
– Louise Thomann
At the orchard of Fontloup in Montboucher, on the other hand, the manager is reluctant to open his operation to pickers this year. Indeed Claude Skrzypczak also deplores small sized apples. This is a side effect of dryness.
The Limousin apple sector, registers for the third consecutive year a recolt below its potential. “From an economic point of view it is very worrying, especially in a context of inflation and increased charges”recognizes Laurent Rougerie, the president of the AOP Pomme du Limousin producers’ union.