Heavy dropping of ripe apples from tall trees is puzzling both farmers and experts as harvesting farmers can only count their losses in Himachal Pradesh. |
The over three month long apple harvest has currently entered its second phase and peak time. At over Rs 1,000 crore the fruit accounts for the largest farm crop in the hill state. |
"But this year many of the farmers across the apple belt will be hit as ripe apples in large quantities are dropping from trees on the hard ground and getting damaged, resulting in huge losses," said Lekh Raj Chauhan, president of the Himachal apple growers' association. |
"Majority of the farmers are suffering this problem of unusual shedding of the fruit this year and the loss could be huge," Chauhan told Business Standard in Rohru, the apple heartland of the hill state. |
"The state has a horticulture university and a highly qualified department of horticulture but they have not been able to find a solution so far to this strange phenomena affecting the crop since the last two months," explained Chauhan. |
Farmers said minor shedding of ripe fruit did take place each year but this year the fruit shedding is much higher and even the raw fruit is dropping to the ground. |
"If the fruit is picked directly from the tree it can remain fresh for several months as apple has a long shelf life, but if it drops to the ground it gets bruised and damaged resulting in early rotting. Such fruit fetches a very low price in the market," explained Dass, a farmer. |
"The dropped fruit is very poor in quality and, also has to marketed and consumed immediately. While 20 kg fresh and undamaged apple currently fetches Rs 400 to Rs 700 in the Delhi market, bruised apples fetch less than a fifth of this price," he said. |
Although no scientific explanation has been given by experts so far, farmers say this could be due to either a fungal disease which spread in early July when the state was lashed by extremely heavy monsoon showers. The state witnessed the wettest July in many years. |
Many think it is due to over-use of chemicals. "I think the fruit shed is taking place due to heavy use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and fungicides in recent years. This advise is given by the state horticulture department and the state horticulture University at Solan in order to increase the production of the fruit," explained Chauhan. |
Apple is grown in the mid hills of the state in Shimla, Kullu, Kinnaur and parts of Solan, Sirmaur, Mandi and Chamba and Lahaul Spiti districts. |
Last year the state recorded an all time high apple production of 525,000 tonnes. This year also a good yield is expected. |
"The apple season is at its peak and each day around 800 to 900 trucks are leaving the state borders each day to markets across the country," said the state Horticulture Minister Singhi Ram. |
"So far 22,000 trucks have already left the state ever since the harvest began in mid July," he said. |