Shopian: With high-density apple plantations reaping rich rewards, many areas in Kashmir are waiting for similar government schemes for other fruits like cherry, pear, plum, peach and almond.
According to official data, almost half of Kashmir’s population is primarily dependent on horticulture, which covers 3.4 lakh hectares of land. Of this, only 0.07 percent of horticulture land has been brought under high-density plantation so far, primarily with the government’s subsidiary scheme for high-density apple plantation.
Ishfaq Ahmad, a fruit grower in Pulwama, said that the current year is the only one in the past decade when the region’s traditional pear has fetched good market rates.
“We have introduced some imported varieties of pear but by grafting them to traditional trees, which will not fetch more fruit like the high-density ones do. So we appeal to the government to help in high-density plantation of pear, too, including root stock,” he said.
Similarly, plum grown in Budgam and Srinagar districts has not seen satisfactory rates since a decade. “Growing traditional varieties is not fetching gains as in the past. People want better varieties now,” said Ishfaq Ahmad Yatoo, a resident of Budgam.
Izhan Javid, chief executive officer of Green valley Agro Fresh, a company that trades in fruits, told Kashmir Reader that introducing apple under high-density plantation is a revolution in the making, but only apple is not the solution.
“Different districts have different topography, so growing apple at every place can’t benefit those areas where it can’t be grown. The government must introduce high-density schemes for other fruit like pear and almond in Budgam and Pulwama areas, for plum in Srinagar, Budgam and Pulwama areas, and cherry in Shopian, Srinagar and Ganderbal areas. Similarly, peach and other fruit has to be grown according to topography,” he said.
A horticulture expert based in north Kashmir said that Kashmir is the highest consumer of pesticides in India. He said that the traditional trees and methodology to contain different diseases is tiresome as it needs strenuous efforts to spray pesticides. Due to this, he said, pest control is not effective and the spraying of trees does not reach every place.
“The case with high-density is different: the trees are smaller in size and we can use minute quantity of pesticides to control the pests, as is being done in western countries, where they do more sprays than us but despite that they use less quantity than we do,” said Dr Tariq Rasool, a senior SKUAST scientist.
Dr Tariq added that time has changed and in this time of information and technology, Kashmiri fruit has to compete with that from countries which have much advanced technology.
Director Horticulture Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, told Kashmir Reader that high-density plantation was introduced for apple first because it is the identity of Kashmir. “We are initiating schemes for other fruits as well. We have started a centre of excellence at Zawoora Srinagar where research and other important development of different high-density fruit is taking place,” Bhat said.
Bhat added that growers who are registering with the department for nurseries are being provided plants and branches for pruning purposes. “We already have brought a high-density variety of pear, peach and plum. Subsidised schemes for them will be initiated soon,” he said.

Raashid Hassan