Saxony wants to preserve orchards in the long term

Saxony wants to preserve its orchards in the long term and is therefore launching a research and development project. Over the next two years, a strategy is to be developed on how orchard meadows can be better used, maintained and further developed, the Ministry of the Environment and Agriculture announced. Specifically, the project will focus on recommendations for the creation, maintenance, preservation and restoration of orchard meadows, requirements for planting material and the marketing of orchard products.

Günther: Our country would be poorer without orchard meadows

"Orchard meadows are a habitat for many plants, insects and birds. They are hotspots of biodiversity. Orchard meadows belong to Saxony, they are part of a centuries-old, rich cultural landscape. And they are something to behold. But their numbers are declining," explained Environment and Agriculture Minister Wolfram Günther (Greens). The aim is to reverse this trend. Saxony wants to create new orchards and maintain the existing ones. "We need to use, process and market the fruit. Without orchards, our country would be poorer."

"I am confident that we will succeed in reversing the trend. It helps that more and more people are turning to old, tasty fruit varieties that grow in orchards. And juices, musts, vinegars, liqueurs and brandies from orchards are top-quality products," said the Minister at the official launch of the project in Neumohlis (Meißen district). With the broad participation of as many experts and local stakeholders as possible, the research project aims to produce practical recommendations and proposals for the further development of support services for orchard meadows.

Orchard meadows are classified as highly endangered to endangered

According to the ministry, there are around 12,800 orchard meadows in Saxony. They require a great deal of care and harvesting is much more time-consuming than conventional orchards. As a result, their number has decreased in recent decades. The history of these meadows dates back to the 18th century. During this time, fruit growing began to spread outside settlements into the open countryside, giving rise to the typical orchard meadows. These meadows are classified as "highly endangered to endangered" in the Red List of biotope types in Saxony.

BUND also looks after orchard meadows

The Dresden Federation for Environmental and Nature Conservation (BUND) also looks after orchard meadows. A cherry harvest was due to take place in one of the areas in July. However, there was nothing to harvest this year due to the early budding caused by the warm weather combined with the late frost in April. The harvest was rescheduled as a maintenance operation.

Climate change could cause such phenomena to occur more frequently in the future, explained BUND board member Jenny Förster. "We must not only pay attention to the signs of warming in summer, but must also consider the effects on nature in the winter and spring months. If we want to preserve the many valuable functions of orchards for people and nature, we must both invest in their care and make a committed contribution to mitigating the climate crisis."