Seasonal fruit growers across Central Otago have experienced some setbacks due to the weather.
The district is yet to feel a constant summer heat which has pushed the picking season back for many fruit growers.
Fourth generation owner of Webbs Fruit Simon Webb said they saw it coming.
"Our family’s been doing it for 110 years. You can’t take these things on your shoulder.
"You’ve got no influence over it. With this weather, you’ve just got to roll with it," he said.
Mr Webb said their fruit shops in Cromwell and Frankton had been affected as a result of the wind and lower temperatures.
"People come in with the expectations of previous years, but the reality is less fruit and less quality."
The weather had not affected the quality as such but had affected the timing and having superior fruit at the right time, he said.
Jackson Nolan, of FreeWay Orchards, said the season was running eight days later than normal.
"In the spring we experienced cold weather which was too cold for the bees to activate.
"Bees need around 16°C to activate, and if temperatures did reach that, they were only there for two to three hours instead of the needed and usual eight to 10."
Mr Nolan said the grading of the fruit this season had had to be much harder.
Jackson Orchard owner Kevin Jackson said the wind they had experienced in Cromwell simply added more physical labour to the workload of maintaining the orchards.
Teviot Valley grower Stephen Darling said the weather had not impacted export fruit.
"The weather has not affected our exporting; in fact it’s quite good as our best export timing is generally later in the season.
"Our competing southern hemisphere countries run out of their fruit, so we’re quite happy if the harvest looks a bit delayed."
He said growers liked calm, mild to hot days and it was pleasing to see the sun in the last week or so in the Teviot Valley.
"We haven’t had a lot of rain, so we’re irrigating our apples and stone fruit."
