The hot weather currently gracing Europe may be good news for those who felt that, following the build up of spring, the UK was cheated of a fully-fledged summer, however, many fruit farmers, particularly tree fruit growers, have reservations. The growers are worried that prolonged warm weather before late fruits are off the trees could give rise to a second generation of pests. image expired

The heatwave could affect the apple harvest if it lasts; Tim Biddlecombe of the Farming Services Advisory Team, which monitors weather across the UK’s fruit growing regions, said the warm spell may allow for a resurgence in codling moth numbers. The team has been monitoring the moth’s prevalence and fears Indian summer conditions could give rise to a second generation of moths.

Biddlecombe said, "Our main pest, the codling moth, can have two generations if we have long warm summers; in the warmer parts of the South-East there is evidence of a second generation, which could be prolonged if this warm spell continues.

"It’s that second hatching of larvae which cause damage to the apples just before they are picked, when it’s too late to apply any control measures." He said growers of later varieties, such as Braeburns, could be affected by this second generation.

However, the outlook is not necessarily so clear cut. Biddlecombe revealed fruit growers are ambivalent to this summer’s final hurrah; although the conditions bring with them the risk of more pests, they could also secure a better crop for next year.

The quality of this year’s summer - light and temperatures, which affect the development of buds for the next year -was unremarkable and therefore the weather in July and August could affect the quality of the crop for next year, unless the warm spell holds out.

Of some concern to fruit growers are predictions of early frost and potentially even snow, which meteorologists have said could come as early as October, once this week’s balmy conditions have passed. Met Office spokesperson Helen Chivers confirmed that growers could see frosts as early as October, though dispelled the prediction that snow was likely.

She said the hot weather will remain until the end of the week, possibly staying longer in the South, though much of the UK will see some rainfall from the weekend into next week. The Met office’s 30 day forecast suggests weather in October will be normal for the time of year, running contrary to earlier predictions for snow later in the month, though there may well still be frosts.