United Apple: Spring blooms strong for Eastern tree fruit

While many U.S. regions were stalled by record-setting cold snaps, heavy snowstorms and freezing rains, the Northeast is emerging from a long winter with good conditions for a strong start to apple season.

Lyndonville, N.Y.-based United Apple Sales experienced a traditional Northeastern winter, Brett Baker, corporate vice president and co-owner, said in a news release. United Apple Sales is a Northeast grower, packer, shipper and marketer of domestic apples, pears and cherries. 

“Some regions of the country were blindsided by catastrophic conditions this past winter, but we were fortunate to have an overall good season with temperatures slightly above average and snowfall within the normal range of 70 to 75 inches,” he said.

The consistently cold weather in January and February didn’t cause any winter injury to the crop.

“Of course, you never take anything for granted,” Baker said.

On April 22, United Apple Sales had 3 inches of snow while the apples were still in the tight cluster stage without blossoms, so they remained unaffected. The weather returned to seasonal temperatures in the mid-50s and there was no real damage.

“But it is just a reminder that we can’t get too far ahead of ourselves this early in the season,” Baker said. 

Even so, staff members are assessing soil conditions and possible damage in the orchards from April frosts, Justin Whipple, procurement and operations manager, said in the release.

“With warm weather arriving, we are already seeing a significant increase in bee activity, which is always an encouraging sign. By late May, the crop will set, and we will have the drop in mid-June, when we will have an initial indication of the potential volume and preliminary harvest schedule. We have a long season ahead of us but we are poised for a great start to the season,” Whipple said in the release.  

Based on 2020’s strong harvest, United Apple leaders anticipate traditional Eastern varieties of macintosh and cortland as well as mainline varietals of fuji, gala, Honeycrisp and red delicious will be in good supply. United’s EverCrisp, RubyFrost and SnapDragon club varieties will see a larger volume as young trees are maturing and producing more fruit.

United’s eastern cherry orchards are also benefiting from the strong spring bloom and are expected to have a great start to its program featuring cavalier, hartland, lapins, royalton, sam’s, and ulsters.

Retail partnerships impact orchard management

The traditional supply model, in which apple growers and packers inform retailers of the availability schedule, volume of fruit and breaks on size and fruit color, has been changing, Baker said in the release.

The fresh produce marketplace has become more complex as the relationship between retailers and consumers shifts. Information about preferences is free-flowing with social media and other communications platforms, and retailers are trying to keep pace with consumer demands and market trends.

For instance, retailers and packers had to shift during the pandemic as customers shied away from bulk and individual apples and opted for the packaged product due to concerns about food safety and excessive handling.

“Retailer input can have an impact on how we work with growers to review the state of their orchards and adjust orchard management,” Baker said in the release.

United works with retailers to have the right merchandising and other tools to sell their apples.

Whipple and his team integrate input from retail partners with market updates from account managers to establish a foundation for a productive dialog with their grower group, he said.

“This 360-degree perspective gives us opportunities to proactively work ahead and manage elements within our control. We can fine-tune production with thinning of trees on certain varieties to affect the sizing of fruit to maximize production and generate the packs that are best suited for individual retail programs,” Baker said in the release. “The days of presenting a manifest without considerations for market preferences are no longer a viable solution for meeting demands or leveraging a crop.”