P.E.I. apple crop, orchard damaged from winter weather

Mike Beamish says he had to cut down 94 of his apple trees after P.E.I.'s hard winter.

"We've lost about a quarter of the orchard," said Beamish.

Beamish is one of many P.E.I. apple growers whose orchard and crop have been affected by the long winter and late spring.

He said the snow piled up so high it dented the roof of his barn and damaged his apple trees.

"The snow would encase those branches, and then as it melts in the spring, the whole snow level goes down, bringing that branch with it and would basically rip the branch right out of the trunk," said Beamish.

"It doesn't do a nice job of ripping it, like if you go with a saw and do a nice cut. It actually just tears it right out of the trunk, which makes a terrible mess. and it provides a perfect spot of diseases and bugs to take hold."

Beamish says he had to downsize and can't offer his apple U-pick to regular customers because there are not enough apples.

"It was an unusually late start. I've seen some other springs that aren't that great, but this was very late, and not a great growing season up until recently," said Beamish.

"We've had some nice heat lately, and some moisture, but the earlier part of the summer wasn't great either."

Beamish added in other years with late starts there was a nice summer and things caught up a little.

"But it seems for me anyway this year, things haven't really caught up yet."

The Prince Edward Island Apple Grower's Association says it has been a bad season for many growers on the Island.

Apple lovers looking for their favourite apples at fruit stands this fall they may notice some differences.

"They'll be a smaller crop. So both size, because a nice long growing season, the apple has enough time to get a nice size to it, but with a shorter season, because once fall comes and the tree gets ready to close down for the winter, it stops growing the apples. So if they're not very big, well that's as big as they're going to get," said Beamish.