With Himachal Pradeshs apple belt witnessing one of the driest and warmest winters in recent years,the states fruit economy is fearing a major blow. In fact,its official now the states biggest cash crop has pinned hopes on last weeks mild rains and slight dip in temperature to recover from the impact of a prolonged dry spell. Himachals apple crop accounts for an economy of Rs 1,500 crore with the state of late emerging as a leading producer of the fruit in the country. Some of the new apple varieties introduced recently had even fuelled hopes of export. Big corporate houses,too,had begun lining up to buy apples directly from the growers. While two successive seasons went by well,this time around the fruit growers are edgy. Since September last year,there hasnt been a drop of rain and absence of winter snow has only compounded the problem. There is no moisture in soil since the past four months. The plants have turned pale. This could be dangerous for the upcoming crop. The actual impact of the dry spell and an abnormally high temperature will be known only in the next few days, says Rohit Thakur,former MLA and grandson of states former chief minister Thakur Ram Lal. Rohit has an orchard in Jubbal area of Shimla. In the neighbourhood Kotkhai,Chopal,Rohru and Theog,the after-effects of the dry spell is quite visible. With the crop already entering the flowering stage,the growers are banking on last weeks mild showers that could bring down the temperature by only two to three notches from 10.6 degrees Celsius to 8.4 degrees Celsius. We are hoping that the showers prove beneficial for the crop,at least in some areas, says Gurdev Singh,director,Horticulture. The growers,however,arent very optimistic. Lekh Ram Chauhan,president,Himachal Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association,says,The way day temperature increased in February and mid-March,has created fears of an early flowering and could further ruin prospects of quality crop. The fruit will be weak and vulnerable. The temperature till last week exceeded 22 degrees C against the expected 16 to 17 degrees C. This could be attributed to climatic changes and global warming in the mountains. The absence of winter snow which acts as manure for the apple crop is also worrying as it deprived the plants of requisite chilling. Not only December but also the months of January and February went without snow. Deputy director,Horticulture,R G Sood is not sure about the extent of losses. We have asked the field officers to send related reports. Once flowering starts,the impact of the dry spell will become clear. Yet its a fact that the dry spell is unprecedented and cannot be without an adverse impact on fruits.
