Shopian: A new scab infection in apple trees arrived with the month of May and orchardists are apprehensive about the well-being of their crop, which earlier this year had witnessed a heavy scab infection.
Many reasons have been mentioned by experts and scientists of SKAUST and of the horticulture department, which according to them have caused a rise in scab infections this year. Early snowfall this winter is one of the main reasons. It caused heavy damage to trees, which experts warn will affect the quantity of crop for many years.
Dr Tasneem Mubarak, senior SKAUST scientist and head of KVK Kulgam, said that besides lack of sanitisation, improper pruning and training of trees is another reason which has caused massive scab infections.
“What I found on the ground is that most of the orchards are like jungles. No proper pruning and training of trees is done, and heavy or even normal rain will cause infections,” he said.
Once the trees are not trained properly, he said, ventilation is curtailed as every surface of tree needs sunlight and air. The dense branches keep moisture for a long time and it helps scab and other infections to sprout. Also, fungicides when sprayed do not reach every place due to the density of branches.
“Removing grass under the canopy area of the tree also helps to keep diseases at bay, as it removes moisture and does not let fungus on the ground to come out of hibernation,” Dr Mubarak said.
Orchardists last year failed to clear leaves and other wastes, which according to experts contain infections. When such infections lie about, rain or humid weather helps the scab to sprout early, which is what has happened this year. Dr Mubarak said that cleanliness is the best remedy to keep diseases at bay.
Another reason for the widespread scab this year was skipping of fungicide sprays at green tip and pink bud stage, Dr Mubarak said. When told that many people who sprayed at both stages have witnessed scab in their orchards, he said that either the said orchardists mixed nutrients with fungicides or rain came within 12 hours of spraying.
“When we mix fungicide with nutrients or any other products, it reduces the efficiency or due to chemical reaction even sometimes leads to damage to fruit as well as leaves,” Dr Mubarak said.
He said that the spray schedule issued by SKAUST is the best to follow, but orchardists don’t read it properly and don’t consult experts in case they face confusion on what they should do. “They spray on the recommendations of pesticide sellers, most of whom only want to sell their product,” Dr Mubarak said.
Kashmir last year produced about 23 lakh metric tonnes of apple, which was a record harvest, but the produce was affected by secondary stage scab infection and fetched low market rates. The apples stored in cold storages are now being thrown away.

Raashid Hassan