Kent fruit farmers are re-thinking their future as a result of climate change. They believe that longer, warmer growing seasons will make growing traditional apples and pears less attractive and many are already diversifying into alternative fruits.
Mr Jessel, who owns a 300-acre Bockingfold fruit farm in Goudhurst, East Sussex still grows 90 acres of apples and pears, but the rest of his land is set aside to look at how to generate an income from the exotic fruit market.Last year he produced 200 honeydew-type melons, tayberries, loganberries and melon pears.
His latest crop is the tamarillo, or tree tomato, which is a native fruit from the Andes in Peru and is grown across the Southern hemisphere.This sub-tropical fruit is about the size of an egg and is packed with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and is widely grown commercially in New Zealand.
He discovered it on a trip to Africa and has grown his plants from imported seeds.
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