Contents

Introduction

• Members' Meeting
• Database
• Orchard News

At the National Fruit Collections we have seen a series of new developments during this past year. Wye College, the University of London's institute for food, agricultural and the rural environment in Kent merged with Imperial College (University of London) on 1st August this year. The T H Huxley School of Environment, Earth Sciences and Engineering (established in January 1998), now encompasses horticultural research and teaching. The Wye campus is now known as Imperial College at Wye. T Huxley School’s research interests in the conservation of biodiversity and the environment, will be strengthened by Wye’s responsibility for the scientific development of the National Fruit Collections which includes the largest cultivated collection of Malus germplasm on a single site in the world, and is an internationally recognised genetic resource.

Mr Simon Elworthy, a neighbouring farmer, has taken over the day to day running of the farm at Brogdale on behalf of the Brogdale Trust. With his horticultural expertise and the fortuitous weather, the National Fruit Collections have prospered this year. The fruit is looking good, giving us some fine examples for characterisation and identification.