BAPL/Niab Apple and Pear Technical Day – 10 February 2026

Niab's Graham Dow presenting at the BAPL/Niab Apple and Pear Technical Day

This year’s annual Apple and Pear Technical Day was hosted by Niab and British Apples and Pears Ltd (BAPL) in The Mumford Building at Niab’s East Malling site in Kent. Eighty delegates attended in person with a further 150 viewing on-line through a live streaming service. The recorded presentations are now free to view on the BAPL website and the full programme for the event is listed below.

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Session 1: Technical Strategy for Apples and Pears 

  • Welcome (Mario Caccamo Niab, Rob Saunders BAPL Technical Committee)
  • BAPL update (Ali Capper BAPL)
  • Place based innovation for horticulture, with national impact (Simon Barnes GKM)
  • Overview of how BAPL research is supporting apple and pear growers (Rachel McGauley, BAPL)
  • Crop Protection for British Apples and Pears, the good the bad and the potential (Simon Conway & Carlos Duarte, HCP Ltd)

Session 2: Disease Control 

  • A whole orchard approach to managing apple canker (Matevz Papp-Rupar, Niab)
  • Scab resistance (Don Pendergrast, Agrii)
  • Improving Resilience in Scab Control (Jonathan Blackman, Hutchinsons)            

Session 3: Pest Control

  • Season long control of priority pests (Alex Radu, Agrovista)
  • Novel strategies for management of apple blossom weevil (Sarah Arnold, Niab)
  • Augmenting the apple canopy with earwigs to enhance woolly apple aphid control (Adam Walker, Niab)
  • Update on invasive pests and new ant baits for rosy apple aphid control (Francis Wamonje, Niab)

Session 4: Living orchards  

  • Arboricrop (Graham Dow, Niab)
  • POME: Precision orchard management for the environment (Charles Whitfield, Niab)
  • Holistic biological soil health (Flora O’Brien, Niab)