A fruitful year with large harvests

The hot spring and summer in 2022 has contributed to apples and cherries, among others, providing a larger amount of regional fruits. This was also the case in the canton of Zug.

Berries, cherries, apples and plums: according to the Swiss Fruit Association (Schweizer Obstverband), these fruits are flourishing throughout the country this year. The harvest volumes are higher than in recent years, with more than 114,000 tons of apples expected throughout Switzerland.

More stone fruit than in other years
The last few years have been difficult, says Zug fruit farmer and farm manager Daniel Rüttimann at the Enikerhof in Cham. "We had increasing problems with frost, and I even had to buy fruit from other farms." But he draws a positive balance for 2022, however. "I was able to start harvesting ten days earlier than in previous years." This year had good quality, especially with plums, cherries and apples. "We had a lot more stone fruit than usual, and, in general, the harvest in Zug was great."

They thinned out certain fruits, so that the remaining fruits became larger and more aromatic. As an example, Rüttimann mentions plums (Zwetschgen), which they reduced from ten to five fruits. The fruit and other products are sold at five different locations. "The older varieties of high-stem apples and apple juice are most in demand." They produce 95% on their own farm.

Disadvantages of the heat: sunburn and less moisture
In addition to the sun, a good harvest requires several other factors, explains the fruit grower: "In addition to the temperature, the date of the harvest and the care and storage of the fruits also play a major role." But the heat doesn’t only bring advantages.

"The fruits can also become sunburned. In our country, it was mainly cherries that were affected, which then turned whitish." explains Daniel Rüttimann.

Daniel Rüttimann is the operations manager of the Enikerhof
The apples on the Enikerhof show their best side.
A variety of pears could be found on the Enikerhof             Photos: Maria Schmid

As another example, he lists apples that take on a brown colour. There were also 10 to 14 days with too little moisture this summer. There are two ways to deal with this: "You either water the plants regularly, or you let them look for their own water source in the soil." He himself opts for the latter, as this means less work.

The greatest danger for the fruits are insects. "People working in agriculture have been required to use fewer pesticides against insects, and to instead rely on ‘confusion techniques’," says Rüttimann. A confusion technique is a method of fighting insects without endangering beneficial insects, such as attaching a red scent band to the branches.

He gives the following fruit care tips to garden lovers:

• Have the bushes/trees regularly pruned by a specialist
• Use fertilizer
• Buy varieties that are resistant to scab and/or mildew – both fungal diseases
   

Daniel Rüttimann enjoys customer contact
There will be regional fruits to harvest and buy until the end of October. All the fruit trees will then be professionally cared for, and the harvest will be stored with the appropriate moisture. The apples are sorted at the Enikerhof in the winter, and various products are made from them.

The farmer has been the farm manager of the Enikerhof for six years, and has an average of five to seven employees. He is responsible for personnel, marketing and deliveries. But he also likes to sell his fruit on the market: "I really appreciate the customer contact, and people are happy when the boss is present," he says.

Note: another farm shop will open at Bahnhofstrasse 1 in Steinhausen on 7 and 8 October.