One of the apples coated in a special clay to prevent them from cooking on the tree during heatwaves. (Four Daughters Wine via SWNS)
By Jack Fifield
A farmer has been applying special 'sunblock' to his apples to prevent them from COOKING as Britain struggles through another heat wave.
Clive Baxter, 66, has worked on his family tree fruit farm for 40 years, following in his father's footsteps.
The farm produces 2,000 metric tons of apples per year — but for the last six years he has had to coat his Bramley apples with clay to prevent them from cooking on the tree as the climate changes.
Clive said: "They definitely cook when it's above 30 and there's no wind.
"The juice in the fruit starts to boil, if you're in the shade it's 30, 35, but in the direct sunlight the fruit actually starts to cook on the tree.
Clive Baxter and daughter Lucy Baxter. (Four Daughters Wine via SWNS)
"The juice starts boiling, and that particular apple in the sun is ruined."
Clive, who is the managing director on Amsbury Farm, in Maidstone, England, is better placed than many farmers in the hot and dry conditions.
Following the heat wave in 1976, when he was aged just 16, one of his first tasks when he begun to work with his dad 10 years later was convincing him to install a reservoir.
Before coating the apples, Clive estimates he lost up to a fifth in spoilage each year.
Clive said: "After '76, I convinced my father we needed to put in a reservoir, which was highly unusual back then for tree fruits, people generally didn't have reservoirs for tree fruits.
"We have trickle irrigation systems that are in most of the orchards.
"But even where we're trickle irrigating this year, there's still signs of stress, the trees just don't like this heat. It's too much."
Over the last seven years, the farm has started branching out to other types of fruit — including grapes and apricots — alongside the more traditional apples, pears, plums and cherries.
Now, Clive's four daughters sell wine made from the farm's vineyards.
Clive Baxter, 66, has worked on his family tree fruit farm for 40 years, following in his father's footsteps. (Four Daughters Wine via SWNS)
He added: "Tree fruits are a long term investment, you can't just change crops overnight like you can with an arable crop.
"It's not that straightforward, switching over to more heat tolerant crops."
Clive has called on the government to start installing more reservoirs to ensure farms can keep producing.
He said: "I think farms have been rather forgotten, national security involves food security — if you can't eat and drink, you've got a problem."
On Sunday, speaking to Radio 4's "Broadcasting House," the National Farmers' Union president Tom Bradshaw warned of the potential for shortages of some food products if action isn't taken due to drought conditions.
The 'suncream' coated apples at Amsbury Farm, in Maidstone, Kent, England. (Four Daughters Wine via SWNS)
It comes as London, the South East, East and East Midlands, were issued an amber heat alert by the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Last week, a drought was declared in half of England following record low rainfall and high temperatures.
On Tuesday, July 28, water minister Emma Hardy said: "Our climate is changing, droughts are becoming increasingly common, and we need to be prepared for this new normal.
"We're delivering long-term change in the water industry and driving record investments in infrastructure, including nine new reservoirs.
"We expect water companies to follow their drought plans, to go further and faster to reduce leaks, and to ensure supplies are not disrupted even in the driest of weather."