After having introduced the kiwi fruit in 1987 to see how it fares in the agro-climatic conditions of the Valley,Sher-e- Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology,Kashmir,has now decided to recommend it to farmers for commercial plantation. "It has been decided to introduce the kiwi fruit in the local market after evaluating its climatic adaptability,higher yield,and low infestation of pest and disease and better nutritive value," said head of the department,Pomology,SKUAST,Professor Fayaz Ahmed Banday. Preamble of Kiwi fruit or Chinese gooseberry is a major innovation in the field of agriculture sciences in the Valley. The fruit was introduced keeping in view its scope and demand coupled with its exceptional shelf life,which makes it viable for long-distance shipment. One of the most important advantages of kiwi fruit cultivation in the Valley is early spring frost or snow,which generally causes damage to the stone fruits because of late blooming. "Before recommending it for commercial plantation to the farmers,the techniques of propagation,training and pruning,irrigation,nutritional requirement and maturity standards of the fruit have been confirmed," said Professor Banday. Many varieties of the fruit,including Abbot,Allison,Bruno and Hayward,have been evaluated in SKUAST,Shalimar.Various methods of propagation for fruit growers like germination,budding,grafting and tissue culture,too,have been introduced by the university. The plant requires frequent irrigation for two to three years and at least five days of interval during its initial stage and 10 days of interval under drought conditions. "The orchards of kiwi fruit have been established at Pattan,Budgam and Shalimar in the Valley for demonstrations to fruit growers," said Banday. "The harvest time of this fruit is mid-October in Kashmir and its productive age is 30-50 years. The diversification by this fruit will improve the economy of the orchardists in the Valley," he added. SKUAST University Kashmir is also trying to introduce low-chilling varieties for lower altitudes,coloured and fuzzless varieties for mid-altitude and hard varieties for places where the temperatures dip to minus 30 C degrees.
