| Experts say Himachal and J&K need to catch up with the latest disease-free and high-yielding trees grown in Europe and America, to compete in a highly competitive global environment. |
| "Fifteen apple varieties grown in the US and Italy, including pink lady, gale gala, super chief, honey crisp and honey dew, besides 12,000 marting murton root stalks, are to be imported soon," said R P Sharma, director, horticulture department. |
| "While young apple trees are to be distributed to the farmers as soon as they arrive, the martin murton root stalks will be grown and multiplied in the state horticulture department nurseries and distributed later to farmers," Sharma told Business Standard. |
| The need for importing the latest varieties is being felt by both experts and farmers despite the state having a fourth bumper crop in a row this year. "Our yields are still far lower than the Western countries and if we have to compete, we must start growing the latest varieties," said Lekh Raj Chauhan, President of the Himachal Apple Growers' Association. |
| "Although it remains to be seen if farmers will be immediately ready to cut old trees and replace them new varieties, so far untried in the state," cautioned Chauhan. |
| "Once the process actually starts, more and more plants will need to be imported every year to replace the entire old orchards all over the orchards in the mid hill of the state," he said. |
| Delicious apple varieties were introduced in Himachal by an American missionary SE Stokes in the early twentieth century, but commercial farming picked up in a big way in the seventies. |
| Most of the orchards in the hill state are of the century old delicious varieties which most feel need to be replaced with the latest varieties. |
| As this would only add to the huge Rs 1000 crore apple economy of the state. |
| Shimla produces over three quarters of the state's apple besides four other adjoining districts in the mid hills. |
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