Climate woes bite into Kashmir’s apple industry

Shopian, Dec 8: The prolonged dry weather conditions for most of the year significantly impacted the apple industry.

The apple-rich areas of north and south Kashmir districts, known for producing first-rate apples, reported a significant decline in fruit quality due to protracted dry weather conditions.

Reduced juiciness, heightened pest infestation, and apple scalds were some of the key issues affecting the crop.

Additionally, the apple cultivators, particularly from the upper reaches of the Shopian and Pulwama districts, reported a low shelf life of fruit, affecting the prices.

During the apple season, spanning March to September, the weather remained almost dry with a significant rise in temperatures.

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed 35 percent rainfall deficit from June 1, 2024, to September 25, 2024, with apple-rich Shopian district experiencing 81 percent deficit.

Against a normal precipitation of 542.7 mm, J&K recorded 352.7 mm.

President of Pesticides Association Shopian and a well-heeled apple cultivator Peer Shabir said, “Extended dry weather conditions coupled with soaring temperatures affected the quality of fruit this year.”

He said that hot and humid weather conditions also reduced the shelf-life of the fruit.

“It is also impacting the prices,” Peer said.

Manzoor Ahmad, an apple farmer from Pulwama said that apples lacked juice due to the continuous exposure to sunlight, which also caused damage to the fruit.

“The dry weather conditions increased the insect pest infestation,” he said.

Associate Professor at SKUAST-K, Tariq Rasool told Greater Kashmir that they observed increasing incidences of insect pest infestations, apple scald, and cracking.

He said that these factors led to decreased storage time.

Rasool said that the stem cankers were also reported, particularly in the dryer areas.

However, he said that there were also some positives like fewer incidences of apple scab.

“This year, there was almost no harvest loss to the scab,” he said.