Unseasonal rains trigger fears of crop failure in Kashmir

Srinagar: Panic has gripped apple farmers after incessant rains and snow sparked fears of poor fruit formation and disease.

For more than a week, Kashmir has been witnessing inclement weather with plains recoding heavy rainfall and snowfall in upper reaches.

 The weather department has claimed the inclement weather will continue till May 8 with spells of rain in many places.

 The growers as such have missed necessary sprays to the apple crop.

 “More rains mean more miseries for apple growers. Currently, the majority of the growers are in distress due to the continuous rainfall for more than a week now. It is not a good sign for the apple crop and there are chances of the crop being hit with the scab,” said Ghulam Mohammad Dar, an orchardist from Pattan in north Kashmir.

 Dar like other orchardists in his locality, was scheduled to spray pesticide on his orchards during the last week of April. “Now, I am preparing to spray fungicide as well. We have toured our orchards and there is maximum possibility that scab will hit it if it rains for one or two days,” he said.

 Apple growers suffered huge losses due to a recent hailstorm in Kulgam. “Due to the inclement, we are unable to follow the emergency spray schedule to reverse the damage. This year, we have witnessed more rains during the Spring season while winter was mostly dry,” said Mohammad Iqbal Wani, an apple grower.

 According to Wani, the orchards are now showing the impact of the rains. “In the orchards where there were rains at the time of bloom, the fruit set is not as expected. There is a 20 to 25% decline in fruit set in such orchards. This has primarily occurred in apple orchards, he noted.

 Officials in the horticulture department said there is no visible damage to the apple crop so far. “The growers should follow our advice and spray schedule already released by the department. We have witnessed heavy rains during the season in the past as well but it was the advisory issued by the department which saved the crop,” they said.