Horticulture

Hot, dry weather impacts Pink Lady harvest

By Djembe Archibald

May 30, 2025

Pink Lady apples for sale. Photo: AAP/Paul Miller.

Pink Lady apples have finished their run, but the weather could pose a threat to the harvest’s yield and quality.

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McNab Orchards owner and Fruit Growers Victoria chair Mitchell McNab said the weather had been a challenge for growers.

“We’ve just finished the last of our Pink Lady harvesting,” he said.

“It’s been a bit slow and delayed this year with a lot of hot weather, which typically makes it harder for the fruit to colour.

“I had to wait it out a little bit longer, and I think as a result, around the area as well, there’s going to be some challenges with growers having potentially mature fruit, which means they’ll have to sell the fruit quicker rather than storing it to sell over a long time.”

He said the current weather was a stark change from previous years, with wet weather causing the issues.

“We had all very wet years which made it difficult to harvest with rain and so forth making the fruit soft or wet and unable to harvest,” Mr McNab said.

“Overall, our yield as an industry is probably going to be down a little bit.”

Outside of the weather, Mr McNab said the biggest news in the industry was Australian mainland apples can now be exported to China.

Details on which growers will export to China will be revealed later in the year, Mr McNab said.

“From flowering, which will happen in September or October, we will have to as growers work out what export options are there and as a result we have to tailor our management and pest management,” he said.