Fear dip in production, losses this year
Irfan Tramboo
Srinagar, Apr 19: With rains continuing across Kashmir and temperature witnessing a dip, Kashmir’s Apple orchardists are in distress as they are eyeing a steep decrease in production this year if the same weather conditions persist.
The apple orchardists from South Kashmir’s Shopian district told Excelsior that due to bad weather conditions coupled with a constant dip in the temperature, they are anticipating losses due to an expected decrease in the production of apples this year if the weather conditions don’t change.
The growers said that their industry has been suffering since 2014 for multiple reasons. They said they are suffering enormous losses every year.
“This year too, we are eyeing losses if the same weather conditions continue; the erratic weather has jeopardised everything and we feel helpless,” said Shabir Ahmad.
Notably, Kashmir is witnessing continuous rains over the last few weeks, while hailstorms were also reported from few places in South as well as North Kashmir. The upper reaches also received snow. With the continuous precipitation, the dip has also been witnessed in the temperature which has, in turn, affected the fruit orchards.
As per MeT officials, the month of April this year is way colder than the April that Kashmir experienced last year. April 19, last year recorded 26 degree Celsius temperature in Kashmir, while April 19 this year recorded a temperature of not more than 15 degree Celsius.
The officials also said that in April last year, the mercury usually remained above 20 degree Celsius, but this year, in April, the mercury has witnessed a dip.
The orchardists said that due to the erratic rains, the schedule of the mandatory spray of pesticides and fungicides of the trees also got affected. They said that while there has to be a gap of few days between the two sprays, due to the rains, the gaps got extended.
“The gap which ideally should be, say, for example, 5 days between the two sprays increases due to the bad weather and which in turn can result in several diseases engulfing the trees,” the orchardists said.
While the officials of the Horticulture Department told Excelsior that they have sent out teams that are educating people on how to schedule the sprays and other related activities, the growers said that they are doing it all by themselves.
Chief Horticulture Officer, Shopian Muhammad Yousuf told Excelsior that the change in weather can prove detrimental for the production. However, at the same time, he said that the department is doing everything that it can to disseminate right and needed information to the growers.
“The bad weather condition affects the pollination as the pollinators do not come out when the temperature is low and that will surely affect the production, but we are on it, we are meeting the orchardists and are telling them how to go about it,” he said.
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