The Eco-friendly Orchards label has been in use since 2010. Today, it applies to the French production of apples, pears, peaches, nectarines and apricots. During the harvest, each fruit is picked by hand. For the same variety, several passes of pickers may be necessary in order to pick the fruit at optimal maturity.

The presence of foraging insects such as bees, butterflies or bumblebees in the orchard is essential for pollination and therefore for the development of fruit.
To favour pollination, arboriculturists have chosen to install beehives in the middle of their orchards. The Eco-friendly orchardists contract with beekeepers, which formalises a mutual commitment to preserve these essential insects.

Did you know that? Orchardists are sometimes beekeepers themselves.

To favour the presence of foraging insects, the arboriculturists rearrange their orchards thanks to grass strips between the rows and by planting many hedgerows and flower strips.

Throughout their production cycle, orchards are subject to many attacks by diseases and pests, which can jeopardize the harvest or make the fruit unfit for consumption. It is therefore essential for arboriculturists to protect the trees in order to produce quality fruits.

However, the arborist must proceed with moderation. Many insects, birds and other raptors, present in the orchard, are extremely useful throughout the development, from flower to fruit:

- Pollinating insects: such as bees and bumblebees, which are essential for pollination and fruit production.

- Auxiliaries or useful insects: they allow natural control of pests in orchards. Example: in apple orchards, ladybirds and earwigs contribute to aphid control.

- Birds: such as great tits or birds of prey that rid orchards of many pests.

Various prevention tools are implemented in the Eco-friendly Orchards to limit the use of phytosanitary products. These techniques are known as biocontrol or biological control, for which arboriculture has been at the forefront for many years.

→  Biological control makes it possible to do away with vermin and crop pests, by fostering the presence of their predators in the orchard.  

An example of biological control in apple orchards consists in resorting to mating disruption to control the apple worm. The apple worm is the larva of a moth called the codling moth. The female lays her larvae on the leaves or fruit in which they dig galleries down to the seeds, causing considerable damage. To limit their presence, pheromone diffusers are hung in the trees and spread the smell of the female in the orchard. Disoriented, the male moths are unable to find the females. No mating means no larvae, and hence no worms in the apples! 100% of the eco-friendly orchards use either mating disruption or physical barriers (insect-proof nets) to combat codling moths.

Water is essential for growing and developing fruits. Thanks to the weather stations installed in the orchards, arboriculturists can analyse the data collected by probes placed in the soil to measure the moisture content.

Thus, they can limit the supply of water to the bare minimum, through drip irrigation or micro-sprinkling.

„Vergers écoresponsables”-certified arboriculturists assume responsibility for the elimination of their waste and commit themselves to participating in recycling channels such as Adivalor.

100% of fruit farms are controlled every year by an independent control body.

In order to ensure healthy fruit for consumers, an annual health monitoring programme is carried out by Cofrac accredited laboratories. These laboratories carry out multi-residue analyses per range of 1,000 tons of fruit per producer or producer organisation.

It is forbidden to sell the lots that do not comply with the regulations in force.

These programmes ensure that the fruits comply with the health regulations in force.