Fruit and veg both at 
risk in sodden fields

By The Newsroom
Published 28th Jul 2012, 07:00 BST
The sun may have shone on Yorkshire’s farms this week but those growing fruit and vegetables are already counting the cost of one of the worst growing periods on record.

Potato harvests alone could be reduced by as much as 20 per cent after parts of the country received 250 per cent more rainfall than average and hours of sunshine well below their normal levels.

April and June were officially the wettest on record with cereal producers now hoping the good weather holds to ensure harvests are not ruined.

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However the focus is now on horticulture which is feeling the effects too, with potato farmers in particular anxiously awaiting what the next few weeks will bring in terms of rainfall and sunshine.

Weather throughout 2012 has made potato production very difficult.

From severe frosts in February, high winds in the spring damaging plants and then the heavy rain of recent months flooding fields and leaving crops susceptible to disease.

“Many soils are so wet that many growers are now having trouble travelling with a sprayer, so that blight spraying is getting behind,” a spokesman said.