Raja Syed Rather
Ganderbal, Sep 17: The apple growers in central Kashmir Ganderbal district are cheerful as they expect a bumper harvest this year due to the heavy snowfall and moderate temperature in the fruit growing areas.
The growers at Wakoora and its adjoining areas said that different varieties of apple have grown in their orchards with least affected by the disease caused due to adverse weather conditions and spurious pesticides.
All the orchards are blooming with the rich apple crop at present, they said.
However, the apple growers here have expressed concern over the price hike of apple boxes and other material including fertilizers and pesticides, which according to them have increased the cost of packing by nearly 50 per cent, thus simultaneously affecting their business.
They appealed to the government to come up with market intervention schemes to asset the apple growers and alleged negligent approach by the Department of horticulture towards them.
According to these growers except subsidy, the department has failed to provide other assistance including creating awareness and technical knowhow, saying that the weather didn’t remain favorable many a time, but nobody from the department approached them to make them aware about the consequences and the timely measures.
