Apple production in HP falls by 50%

With snow, the natural manure, for apple cultivation, continuing to elude Himachal Pradesh, the production of the fruit is estimated to have fallen by 50% in the state this season, to the dismay of people involved in this approximately Rs 1,500 crore annual trade.

“This is an unprecedented drought-like situation. I have never seen such a hostile condition for apple cultivation in the past 40-50 years,” horticulture minister Singhi Ram told PTI on Monday.

Describing the present weather condition as a ‘big setback’ for apple farmers, the minister said the state government has ordered a survey by agriculture department officials about the extent of the loss. The estimated loss of apple crop due to lack of snow so far particularly in lower and mid-hills was roughly 50%, vice-chancellor of Horticulture Research Institute, Solan, Jagmohan Singh said.

Horticulture department sources said though an official figure was yet to come, the estimated loss of apple production is big. The winter season has witnessed only six centimetre snow so far while January is about to end. Based on the trend, the weather office does not expect much snowfall in near future.

Total production of apple in the state in 2005 was 5.40 lakh tonne which came down to 2.68 lakh metric tonne last year. The year, 2005, which had seen an impressive apple production registered 124.6 centimetre of snowfall.

The apple plants require continuous chilling of 72 hours to grow. but with snow eluding the state so far, the plants are drying up, BK Thakur, owner of an apple orchard in Kamroo Ghati in Mandi district said.

Another farmer Bhagat Singh of Sarang village of Kinnaur district hoped if the snow falls even by February 15, the damage could be minimised. But Satyajit Singh and Parvinder Singh of Choling in the same district sound pessimistic. With production of apple falling half, the price of the fruit has soared in the market.

“A box of apple, which used to sell for Rs 1,200 last year, is selling for Rs 1,800 now,” SM Sharma, regional manager (headquarters) Himachal Pradesh Marketing Corporation (HPMC) said.

Almost 90% of the apples from Himachal Pradesh go to markets in Chandigarh and Delhi and from there to other parts of the country. Director, Horticulture department CR Sharma said the situation has turned ‘grave’ because of farmers not going for micro-irrigation scheme of the Union government. Adoption of drip irrigation could have considerably reduced the production loss, he added.

Horticulture experts said lack of snow has another harmful effect. It helps growth of insects which eat up the apple tree. A dangerous insect ‘boral’ could attack the apple trees because of rising heat, RS Minhas, a horticulture expert, said. Besides the dry weather, the increase of solar hour due to prolonged daytime was also harmful for the apple plants, he added.

Worried over the situation, farmers and others are seeking divine help for snowfall. The cold wave condition had been easing everyday and minimum temperature in Shimla and other places of the state continue to hover around 7 to 10 degree celsius.

Source: financialexpress.com