National Fruit Show 2024 Trade Exhibitions – The Fruit Grower

Hutchinsons’ agronomist Nigel Kitney revealed that the yields from the company’s ongoing HELIOS (Hutchinsons Enhanced Light Interception Orchard System) project were collated during the summer.

This pioneering project, set up in orchards in Kent and Gloucestershire, is testing the theory that apple yields correlate to the amount of light the trees receive. Several canopy designs are therefore being trialled and their long-term performance and capital return assessed.

Nigel said: “Over the summer we collated yields and have been calculating which systems look to be the most profitable. The results have so far been interesting and will be revealed at a growers’ meeting this winter”.