Apples declining in the UK and abroad

As the UK celebrates Apple Day on 21st October, two traditional apple-growing areas are in serious decline. In the UK, the area of apple orchards has declined by 63% since 1950 (with some areas particularly badly hit such as Devon which lost 89% of its orchards between 1946-2003 and Kent which lost 92% during the same period).

Meanwhile, in the unique fruit and nut forests of Central Asia where the domesticated apple originated, an estimated 90% of the forest has been destroyed in the past 50 years. These forests are home to over 300 wild fruit and nut species from which many of the fruits we eat today are derived, including wild apple, cherry, almond, apricot and pistachio.