Shopian: Imported varieties of cherry have brought about a revolution in the cherry industry of Kashmir, where growers now feel least worried about the damage rain will do, a fear once pervasive in the valley, to their fruit.
In the last decade, about half a dozen cherry varieties have been imported into Kashmir from different countries of the world, mostly Italy. These not only fetch more returns for the growers but are also less vulnerable to rain, unlike the traditional cherry.
Though none of the imported brands can compete with the traditional Mishri variety in terms of colour, crunch, and nutritional value, but this variety often becomes the worst victim of rain. Sayar Ahmad Lone, a grower who has about 100 trees of cherry, told Kashmir Reader that once the Mishri acquires full colour, any rain that occurs at that stage damages the whole crop.
Lone said that the new imported varieties are resistant to low to medium-intensity rainfall, though they also get affected if the rainfall is heavy.
One of the best features of these newly introduced varieties is that the cherries ripen at different times of the brief picking season, thus maintaining the demand and supply chain and bringing handsome gains to the growers.
It also keeps the farmers busy with picking and packing for a longer duration, providing jobs to both local and non-local manual workers for more days.
The cherry picking season used to start by mid June in Kashmir but now it starts by mid May and ends by mid July, growers of the new varieties told Kashmir Reader.
Kashmir on average grows about 15,000 metric tonnes of cherry every year. Shopian in south Kashmir and Ganderbal and Srinagar in central Kashmir are the biggest producers of cherry.
Muhammad Irfan Dar, a grower from Shopian, said that all the cherry trees in his orchard are of newly introduced varieties. “Before 2010 we had around 50 trees but the rains never let us pick the fruit in time, which forced us to chop down all the trees. After 2013 we planted cherry again but this time varieties which are resistant to rains. Thank god, they have fetched us good returns,” Dar said.
Makhmali, Siya, Mishri, Jaddi, Italy Dabal, Vishkan and Stela are some of the varieties grown in Kashmir.
Javid Ahmad, a senior horticulture expert, said that cherries are the best crop as they cost almost no spray to the orchardist.
“There are some more projects in the pipeline where some new varieties will be introduced in Kashmir. In this regard, research and quarantine parameters are underway,” Ahmad said.
Ahmad said that cherry provides mid-year income to the people dependent on horticulture, when they are in dire need of cash to meet household expenses and also invest in apple cultivation.
Director Horticulture, Kashmir, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat couldn’t be reached for his comments on this subject.

Raashid Hassan