The apple industry in Poland

Poland produces more than 3 million t of apples annually, which in 2013 put this country fourth place in the world, behind China, the United States, and Turkey. However, in per capita terms, apple production in Poland is three times as high as in China, and more than six times as high as in the US. Apple orchards in Poland occupy an area of about 180 thousand ha. The soil and climatic conditions are favorable to the establishment of apple orchards throughout the country, but the major apple-growing areas are in central, southwestern, and southeastern Poland. Unlike in other Western countries, a wide range of apple cultivars is grown in Poland on a commercial scale. These are ‘Idared’ (19% of apples produced), ‘Šampion’ (11%), ‘Jonagold’, and its mutants (10%), and ‘Ligol’ (9.0%). Cultivars with a lower market share include ‘Gloster’, ‘Cortland’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and its mutant, ‘Lobo’, ‘Gala’ and its mutants, ‘Elstar’, ‘Red Delicious’ and its mutants, and other cultivars. The most commonly used rootstock for the cultivars of apple is the dwarfing rootstock M.9 (about 45% of apple trees currently produced in nurseries). Also used are other English rootstocks – M.26, M.7, and MM.106, and rootstocks of Polish breeding – P14, P16, and P60. The majority of apple orchards occupy an area of 10-15 ha, and they are intensive orchards (about 2000 trees ha(‑1)). Polish fruit growers have modern storage facilities that make it possible to store apples up to 12 months. The harvested apples are destined for domestic fresh consumption (15-35%), export (13-32%), and processing (48-58%). The main problems in apple production are frequent spring frosts, apple scab, and storage diseases – fungal and physiological. The large production output encourages Polish apple producers to seek new markets. There are plans to export Polish apples to China.