A sweet change is picking up in Pulwama village

Jahangeer Ganaie

Pulwama, Jan 06 A small village in Pulwama is ushering a massive change in horticulture by replacing traditional varieties of apple orchards with high density apple.

Hundreds of growers from the Shahoora village in Pulwama are converting their land to cultivate a diverse range of premium apples, which promises not only increased yields but also unique flavors and textures.

According to news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), the change started after a few apple growers from the area planted high density varieties and earned high margins of profit. This sparked interest among the rest of the growers of the area to plant the same varieties.

The growers told KNO that the new varieties of apples were introduced in Kashmir after 2015 and they start bearing fruits just a year after their plantation and reach full production in the 4th or 5th year. Besides, high-density apples are harvested in August only and have facilities available to save them from hailstorms and other things.

Contrastingly, a traditional apple tree starts bearing fruit at least ten years after plantation and is harvested in November. At times like in the past few years, the late harvest caused growers to sustain damages due to untimely snowfall.

Tariq Ahmad, who has high-density apples on around eight kanals of land in Shahoora said people have noticed the benefits of high-density apple farming. “We have prepared fresh 12 Kanals and are going for high-density apple farming as this requires low input cost and less labour cost,” he said, adding that the quality of such apples is also high with uniformity in colour and size.

The varieties include Jeromine, King Roat, Gala Scarlet, Red Velox, Scarlet Spur-II, Super Chief, Redlum Gala and Auvi Fuji.

“The high density apple orchards require less fertilisers and pesticides,” Tariq said.

Mohammad Akbar, another grower in Niloora village of Shahoora, said that they are planning to plant over 5,000 high density trees this year.

He said that the same is the case with other villages in the area as high density varieties are being planted on hundreds of kanals of land.

An official said that the shift towards high-density orchards involves innovative planting techniques, advanced cultivation methods and the incorporation of cutting-edge technology.

“This transformative approach is attracting attention from apple enthusiasts and industry experts alike,” they said, adding that farmers are embracing this trend, recognizing the potential for enhanced productivity and economic benefits.

The horticulture official told KNO that around 800 hectares of land has been brought under high-density apple farming in J&K so far and the department is working to increase it to around 5,500 hectares in the next few years.

They said the 50 percent subsidy is provided to orchardists who establish or switch to high-density fruit production.

In September 2015, the then J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed inaugurated the first-ever high-density apple orchard at Bamdoora in south Kashmir's Anantnag district.

Kashmir on average produces over 20 lakh metric tonnes of apples every year, a figure that in some years touches 25 lakh metric tonnes.

According to the 2017 economic survey in J&K, half of Kashmir’s population is directly or indirectly dependent on the apple industry and over 3.5 lakh hectares are under apple cultivation.

Horticulture is an essential contributor to SGDP with a share of about 9.5 percent. About 8.50 crore man-days are generated through this sector in J&K every year—(KNO)