Apple farmers in Shopian battle devastating Spider Mite outbreak

Shopian, Oct 23: A new pest spotted in the apple-rich villages of south Kashmir's Shopian district has caused much distress among the apple cultivators.

Spider mite has been reported from the Babapora and Awneera villages of the Zainapora sub-division, causing damage to apple orchards. Both the villages are known for producing first-rate apples.

The mites live on the leaves where they weave protective silk webs and cause damage by sucking nutrients from the leaves.

Some affected orchardists said that the diseases can damage the leaves in as little as a week.

" I first spotted it in July and it was controlled after I used some insecticides, but it has recurred," said Touseef Ahmad, an apple grower from Babapora village.

He said that apple farms sprawled over large swathes of land were hit by this disease.

The affected farmers from Awneera village told Greater Kashmir that the disease had not been reported before.

" We are clueless about the origin of the disease," they said.

Following the outbreak of leaf miner diseases, a novel pest that was first reported a few years ago from Zainapora area, hit hundreds of apple farms in the area, the spider mite is causing much distress among the apple cultivators.

"These are new diseases that we had not seen before. Experts must investigate and provide effective solutions to manage and control their spread," said Abdul Rashid, a farmer.

Peer Shabir, a well-heeled apple orchadist and president Pesticides Association Shopian said that these new diseases were introduced through imported rootstock and plant material.

"The plant material imported from Italy and other countries is not quarantined property upon their arrival, resulting in the spread of new diseases," he said.

Following the reports of spider mite, a team of experts from SKUAST-K and officials from the Department of Horticulture visited the affected farms.

Javed Ahmad, Horticulture Development Officer, Zainapora said that the experts collected the samples of web and the insectes from the farms.

He, however, said that it was already in their notice and some orchardists neglected the advisories issued by the department a few months ago.

"The situation is completely understand control," he added.