Weak trellis system replacement in orchards gains demand
Shopian, Nov 7: Ishfaq Abbas, a young farmer from Gopalpora in south Kashmir’s Anantnag district recently replaced the trellis system in his high-density apple orchard. The farmer has developed his orchard, sprawling over 4 kanals barely four years ago. “The pipes started decaying under the soil,” said Abbas.
He replaced the rusting galvanised iron (GI) poles with concrete ones a few weeks ago after the old structure began collapsing under the weight of ripening fruit.
Abbas is not alone. In August, strong winds flattened the entire trellis system in the orchard of Arif Shafiq Bhat, another grower from Mirdanter village in Anantnag district. Bhat’s orchard had been set up by a private developer in 2019.
The incidents have drawn attention to a wider problem in Kashmir’s apple industry-- the widespread use of substandard trellis systems in high-density orchards. Designed to support trees for decades, many of these structures are built with poor-quality GI pipes and installed improperly, leaving them vulnerable to snow and wind damage and putting farmers’ investments at risk.
A trellis system is a framework of posts and wires used to support and train fruit trees and climbing plants. In Kashmir, it is an essential component of high-density apple orchards, which have been promoted in recent years for their higher yields and quicker returns.
“It is a grave concern for farmers. We think a major crisis has begun unfolding in our high-density orchards”, said a high-density orchard owner in Shopian.
Industry experts say much of the infrastructure uses GI pipes less than 1.5 mm thick and weighing under 10 kg — far below the strength needed for orchards expected to last 40 to 50 years. Many of these pipes also fail to meet the Indian Standard (IS) 1239 specification of 5.5 kg per metre for 60 mm diameter pipes.
“GI pipes are not a long-term sustainable solution for orchard structures,” said Izhan Javed, CEO of Fruit Master Agro Fresh, the company that replaced Abbas’s trellis system. “Over time, they tend to bend or collapse under their own weight, leading to significant losses for farmers. That’s why we strongly recommend pre-stressed concrete poles, which offer a far more durable and reliable trellis solution for modern high-density orchards.” Javed said the company has been receiving a growing number of requests from farmers seeking to replace their old GI structures with pre-stressed concrete poles. “The engineering of trellis systems is very important for long-term sustainability,” he added.
