Shopian: A fresh blanket of snow covered south Kashmir’s hilly district Shopian and adjoining high-altitude areas in the region on Thursday. The fresh snowfall and dip in temperature would delay the spraying of horticulture mineral oil on fruit trees.
According to a horticulture official, the fruit buds were about to break after rise in temperature since the arrival of March. “The fresh light snowfall will delay the Horticulture Mineral Oil (HMO) spraying by a few days,” he said.
HMO spray is considered the most important as far as fruit farming is concerned. “It keeps diseases like San Jos Scale, Scab, and other harmful fungus at bay,” said Javid Ahmed, a horticulture expert. He said that after improvement in weather and rise in temperature, fruit growers should go for the HMO spray.
A few inches of snow accumulated on the ground in Shopian district on Thursday. The snowfall led to slippery roads and inconvenience to commuters.
Since November 7 last year, Kashmir has witnessed the harshest and longest winter in a decade. Heavy snowfall has damaged thousands of apple and other fruits trees. Official data says that fruit production is likely to suffer this year.

Raashid Hassan