Flash floods and incessant rains has taken a heavy toll on apple orchards which were laden with fruits at the time of natural calamity. The production could be down by half this year and is likely to raise the prices of the delicious Kinnauri apple, known for its quality worldwide.
As the last winter got more than normal snowfall, apple orchardists especially of tribal district of Kinnaur were a happy lot until last week when the incessant rains followed by flash floods hit the area and destroyed their orchards.
Kinnauri apples which hits the market in mid of September when the rest of the apples from other part of Himachal Pradesh have flooded the markets. It still fetches good price to the growers owing to its delicious taste and high demand.
Among the popular varieties of Kinnauri apples are Royal, Golden, Red Golden, Red Delicious, Scarlet spur and others and most of the apples of the growers are sold hand to hand. Kinnauri apples are delicious due to the extreme chill conditions at the height of over 10,000 feet, which benefit the crop.
Though the exact loss of apple orchards is yet to be assessed by the State Government but the initial data and the report submitted to Central Government suggests that 50,000 hectare of orchard land has been destroyed taking the cumulative loss of agricultural and horticulture lands to total of Rs450 crore.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in a review meeting on Monday asked to dispatch a team of senior
scientists and subject matter specialists to the rain affected areas and to the interior areas too.
A team of 19 officers had already reached the affected areas besides 8.6 MT of insecticides and pesticides had been made available and 1.4 MT of the same was dispatched on Tuesday. Horticulture minister Vidya Stokes herself an apple grower, said that State Government is in knowhow of the situation and all efforts are being made to provide relief to the people.
Deputy speaker and Kinnaur MlA Jaggat Singh Negi said that Kinnaur contributes around 20-25 lakh boxes of apples every year but due to incessant rains, the figures this year is likely to diminish and likely to be in between 10 lakh to 15 lakh boxes.
Negi says that apple growing belt in the Kinnaur district is Pooh and Nako which were worst affected by the rain and flash floods. “Such was the fury that from the top of the hills, the debris brought down the entire orchards to some kilometres down the hills,” said Negi.
“last year, Kinnauri apple had fetched an average of Rs2, 200 to Rs2,300 per box of 20 kg apple but this year due to shortage and high demand, the Kinnauri apple is likely to cost more,” said Tanta traders of Dhalli fruit and vegetable market, who deals with apples.
Chief secretary Sudripto Roy said that state government is taking all possible steps to reduce the loss of plants in the rain ravaged areas. “Horticulture experts have reached Kinnaur with adhesives to re-joint the broken branches of the apple trees and insecticides and pesticides to protect it from fungus and other diseases,” said Roy.
Meanwhile, such is the damage of orchards that growers are cursing their fate as the new apple trees would bear fruit only after 15 years of proper growth. State Government is also looking for a possibility to distribute a high yield and genetically modified variety of the plant to the rain affected people which would bear fruits just after four to five years.