Jammu: High-density apple cultivation has been changing the complexion of Kashmir’s horticulture sector, providing farmers with better profits compared to traditional apple varieties. As per the Horticulture Department, the new technique of farming has been getting popularity among farmers across the region, changing the landscape of horticulture in the entire region. Currently, farmers who started high-density cultivation are earning a lot.
Since 2015, high-density apple farming got underway, and apple trees began bearing fruit earlier; usually traditional trees take 15 years to give fruits. The new variety of trees starts giving apples within the first or second year; by the fourth year, they give full production. Harvesting takes place in August-September, helping to avoid fruit damage from early snowfall.
One of the farmers, Mohammad Ayoub, said that he used to earn only Rs 100,000 from traditional apple trees on his three-canal plot. “After switching to high-density apples, my income surged to Rs 600,000 in just the second year, which changed my life, and now I am trying to expand my high-density orchard,” he said. Experts say the quality of local high-density apples can match international varieties, but better grading is needed to be more competitive in the market.
Officials believe that high-density apple orchards have changed the apple industry and nurseries in Kashmir. “Farmers are getting a 50% subsidy for setting up high-density orchards,” an official said, adding that the demand for such apple trees has gone up, so several farmers are in queue to get trees imported from foreign nations. The government is targeting to expand high-density apple cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir, planning to convert 5,500 hectares of land by 2026.
