Mild winter does not bode well for apples

LONDON, Jan. 18 (UPI) -- A mild British winter will mean a bad apple harvest and increased prices for the fruit in supermarkets, the Royal Horticultural Society said.

Most fruit trees require a period of cold weather to end their dormancy and promote spring growth, the society said, but the winter has been so mild many trees may fail to produce fruit.

The warm weather, combined with a drought in the British Southeast and Midlands, could push up fruit prices across the country, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.

In addition to apples, blackcurrents and cherries require the chilling effect of a cold winter to produce fruit.

Jim Arbury of the horticultural society recommended covering trees and bushes that blossom early because of the mild conditions to protect them from possible subsequent frost.

"But changing weather conditions is the challenge of gardening that gardeners have to accept," Arbury said. "No matter how much we tend our plants and control pests and diseases we are still so dependent on the weather for abundant crops."