As we know, every season comes with its own specific factors that influence you as growers, and 2026 looks to be no different.
This season in HB started off relatively dry, sunny and warm, with not a lot of frosts or hail. While the wind challenged bees trying to pollinate, and growers trying to spray in spring, generally, it was a smooth start.
Weather windows for chemical thinning were available; trees were generally happy with active shoot growth. Spring had significantly less rainfall than normal and late November soil moisture levels saw the need for irrigation systems to be fired back into life. Sunny warm conditions had very high ET values for October, November and the first half of December.
Mid to late December saw changes to the dry, with rainfall events topping up the soil and putting the irrigation need back on hold. This has continued into the later part of the growing season with ongoing rain events creating little to no need for irrigation for the last few months. Growers that are on the edges of the rivers have seen multiple high flow events top up their soil moisture, despite some of these events not being connected to localised rainfall on the Heretaunga Plains.
The variation in received rainfall across the Heretaunga Plains during events in the 2026 growing season has been vast. Additionally, since the beginning of January there have been 27 days with a maximum temp above 25 degrees making it easy to feel that irrigation applications should be justified. Soil moisture management therefore needs to be assessed using specific data on each block of trees.
What does this all mean for the fruit in the 2026 harvest?
· The good chemical thinning and shoot growth conditions have increased tree vigour. This increases risk for apple leaf curling midge, powdery mildew and Calcium disorders in fruit.
· Carbohydrate has at times been partitioned to excess shoot growth instead of all for fruit growth, this could have a negative impact on fruit size.
· The season length is shorter than 2025 and this would likely give a smaller size than 2025.
· However, in 2026 where fruit has been thinned early and to good fruit numbers this should give a good average size.
· Sunlight and heat levels have been good, however sunburn levels are up in some blocks, especially where summer pruning has overlapped to a following high heat event.
· Fruit colouring conditions have been about normal close to harvest. Where crop loads are excessive or canopy light levels are low, there have still been colour development issues.
· Go date Brix has been a struggle in some varieties, often coupled with low fruit pressures. This is exaggerated in blocks where soil moisture has remained high for the late part of the season, caused either naturally by increased ground water conditions or by over irrigation.
· Fruit quality in 2026 looks to be a mixed bag, highly influenced by the specific seasonal situations of each of the individual blocks.
I believe 2026 season will be remembered as the year that looked good on paper but did not always deliver the final results, block specific factors are having a big bearing on the final fruit quality.
We need to identify what happened this year to each block and then understand what these results might mean for next years crop.
Jonathan Brookes AgFirst HB Ltd
