Himachal apple output to dip

This year's harvest expected to be barely half of last year's 525,000 tonnes

After three bumper years of apple harvest in a row, Himachal Pradesh this year may have barely half of last year's yield, according to early reports by farmers, even as the harvest is to start in July.

With an apple economy of almost Rs 1,000 crore the hill state is one of the major producers of apples. "Last year the state recorded an all-time high apple production of 525,000 tonnes," said an official of the horticulture department.

Apples are marketed in cardboard boxes across the country and the lesser quality fruit finds its way to the consumer in gunny bags.

In 2002 the state produced 349,000 tonnes of apples.

"Initial reports suggest this year the crop may just be barely half of last year," Sanjay Chauhan, a representative of the state Apple Growers Association, told Business Standard.

"This has happened despite a long and harsh winter with plenty of snowfall, which is suitable for apples. But the damage was done by the wet weather in April as ground frost killed the tender blooming apple flowers, leading to poor pollination of the fruit," he explained.

"Maximum damage has been caused in orchards 7,000 feet to 9,000 feet above the sea level, while reports are mixed from orchards in the lower hills, as most of the crucial bloom had already taken place when the spell of spring rains and frost came," said Rajiv Chauhan, a top orchard owner of the hill state said.

"There is no doubt that the extremely cold weather in April has harmed the apple crop this year in most of the orchards and the yield is likely to be much lower than last year," said Devinder Shayam, chairman of the state Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee.

Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand account for almost the entire apple production of the country, which is now struggling to compete against high-quality but expensive apples from Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand.

Apple harvest in Himachal starts in July and goes on till October, when the fruit in the orchards the highest regions ripens. This apple has led to an economic revolution in upper Himachal, where the crop has rapidly grown in the past 20 years.

Fruitless year

• With an apple economy of almost Rs 1,000 crore, the hill state is one of the major producers of apples
• Last year the state recorded an all-time high apple production of 525,000 tonnes
• The extreme cold weather in April is cited as the main reason that has harmed the apple crop this year
• Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand account for almost the entire apple production of the country