Harvest time

The “Ländle Apfel” in the face of climate change

The apple harvest should be good this year. Last year's yield in the Ländle was miserable.

(Bild: Ländle Marketing)

Vorarlberg's apple producers are feeling the negative effects of climate change. Nevertheless, this year's harvest is abundant. 

On Wednesday, the Vorarlberg Chamber of Agriculture and "Ländle Qualitätsprodukte Marketing GmbH" held a press conference at Balottahof in Schlins - one of eight farms that grow apples with the "Ländle seal of quality" - to provide an outlook on this year's apple harvest. A good result is expected with around 450 tons of dessert apples and 115 tons of cider-quality apples.

The year did not go according to plan at all for the apple growers: "The apple blossom started extremely early again this year and caused us some sleepless nights due to the risk of frost. Fortunately, we were largely spared the frost, but had to contend with other weather challenges," reports Jens Blum, Chairman of ARGE Erwerbsobstbauern and Vorarlberg's largest "Ländle Apfel" producer.

Rain caused worry lines
The heavy rainfall in May was a particular cause for concern, as the wet weather also increases the risk of fungal infestation. Some fruit growers also had to contend with losses due to hail. It is therefore all the more pleasing that the harvest should still be very plentiful. The yield of 450 tons of dessert apples would be the third-best result in the past ten years.

Anyone who buys apples produced in Vorarlberg is not only doing something good for their health, but is also protecting the climate. And the apples taste good too!

(Bild: Matthias Weissengruber)

The quality is also good, as Ulrich Höfert, fruit-growing advisor at the Vorarlberg Chamber of Agriculture, emphasizes: "Apples love varied temperatures, but not heat. Thanks to the reasonably normal temperatures in summer and the good water supply, the fruit this year is of good, firm quality and tends to be larger than in some other years."

Vorarlberg's most popular variety by far, the "Elstar", accounts for almost 40 percent of the harvest, with the "Topaz" in second place with around 14 percent. It is followed by the varieties "Boskoop" and "Jonagold", each accounting for around 11 percent of the harvest. At the same time, plantations are being established with new varieties such as the "Santana" apple for allergy sufferers, the organic "Natyra" apple and the particularly crunchy "Wurtwinning/WUR029" variety.

Apples are not climate sinners
As much as climate change is a headache for fruit growers, the apple itself is not a climate offender. Quite the opposite, as Marcel Strauß, Managing Director of "Ländle Qualitätsprodukte Marketing GmbH", emphasizes: "The apple itself has a very small CO2 footprint, as the trees themselves also bind CO2. The biggest issue, apart from land use changes, is transportation, where regional apples unsurprisingly have significantly better values: one kilogram of 'Ländle apples' causes around 0.05 kilograms of CO2 emissions, while a national apple causes around twice as much. An apple grown outside of Europe has more than six times the emissions of 0.32 kilograms when transported by ship, and more than 300 times by plane."

Even the frequently criticized storage in Vorarlberg has hardly any effect on CO2 emissions: "Ländle apples" are stored until May at the longest and therefore mainly in the cold season. This means that the footprint is still lower than that of imported goods.