Kullu: Himachal Pradesh may witness one of the worst apple seasons this year, with farmers reporting losses of up to 70% across major producing regions in the hilly state due to prolonged erratic weather.From Kullu, Shimla, Kinnaur to parts of Mandi district, apple orchards have been hit by a combination of inadequate chilling hours, sharp temperature fluctuations, frost, hailstorms and untimely rainfall, severely affecting flowering, pollination and fruit setting.The losses vary across regions and varieties. While higher reaches such as Kinnaur have fared relatively better, mid and lower elevations have witnessed extensive damage, in some areas touching up to 80%. Traditional varieties such as ‘Royal Delicious’ and ‘Red Delicious’ have been among the worst affected, while newer varieties like ‘Gala’ have shown comparatively better resilience.According to Harish Chauhan, president of the Fruit Vegetables and Flowers Growers’ Association of Himachal Pradesh, the scale of damage is unprecedented in several lower and mid-altitude areas.“Our estimates suggest that the overall loss to apple crop this year could be as high as 70% in major apple belts of the state. In lower elevations, the crop situation is worse. The losses could shrink this year’s apple economy of the state from Rs 5,000-6,000 crore to Rs 1,500-2,000 crore this season,” said Chauhan.He added that the weather had remained unfavourable to the apple crop since the winter months.“While in winter, apple orchards in most areas did not receive requisite chilling hours due to delayed and comparatively less snowfall, affecting bud development and overall fruit-setting cycle, and then at the peak apple flowering season in March, the weather took a sharp turn,” added Chauhan.According to the meteorological centre, Shimla, heat wave to severe heat wave was witnessed in the first fortnight of March in districts like Kullu, Mandi and Sirmaur, and then cold wave to severe cold wave was recorded in various districts after March 15 due to snowfall in parts of Kullu, Mandi, Lahaul Spiti, Chamba and Kinnaur districts.“The ideal temperature during the apple flowering season is between 15 and 22 degrees Celsius, but it fluctuated from over 30 degrees to below 10 degrees in the apple-growing regions within a short range in March. This resulted in disruption in the entire flowering and fruit-setting process. Also, unseasonal snowfall in March caused frost to further damage the crop during flowering,” said Gurmohinder Singh Kotia, a veteran horticulture expert who runs an apple nursery in Seobag village near Kullu.According to Kotia, a rapid rise in temperature accelerates flowering, but if temperatures suddenly dropped, the delicate flower tissues and ovary could get damaged.Pollination was also disrupted this year due to unseasonal rainfall and almost zero-bee activity.“Heavy rainfall damaged the pollen, and prolonged cold conditions meant bees remained inactive during the crucial flowering period. As a result, pollination was badly affected, leading to weak fruit setting, quality and quantity-wise. My 80% of the total apple crop is gone this year,” Kotia added.The final blow to the apple crop was delivered by hailstorms, which hit regions from Kullu to Shimla in March, April and even this month in May.Apple growers from Kullu and Mandi districts claim that, on average more than 50% of the crop has been damaged due to the erratic weather this year.“My apple crop this year is significantly lower than the previous year, almost half. As far as plums and pears are concerned, the crop this year is negligible. This is one of the worst years for apples in recent times due to unseasonal rains and cold weather in March and unprecedented hailstorms,” said Shashi Bhushan Thakur from Shirar village in Kullu and a member of the local fruit growers’ association.Apple is Himachal Pradesh’s most important cash crop, with the industry estimated to be worth Rs 5,000-6,000 crore annually. The crop accounts for nearly 49% of the total area under fruit cultivation and over 77% of the state’s total fruit production. Around 2.5 lakh families in the hill state depend directly or indirectly on apple farming for their livelihood, making Himachal Pradesh country’s second-largest apple producer after Jammu and Kashmir, with an annual production of 5-6 lakh metric tonnes.“What makes the situation worse for the state farmers is the fact that there is no solid govt support available. They have to fight for everything, from insurance claims to subsidies. There are govt subsidy schemes, but no money to pay for it. All red carpet govt schemes are meant for businesses only and nothing for farmers. Even the weather gods seem to be not with us,” said Chauhan.Box:‘Negligible production of plums, pears this year’The damage this year has not been limited to apples alone. Other temperate fruit crops like plums and pears have suffered even heavier losses in several parts of Himachal Pradesh. Fruit growers said unseasonal rain, frost, hailstorms and prolonged cold conditions during flowering severely affected pollination and fruit setting, leading to crop losses of up to 80%-90% in some areas.“Most fruit growers in Kullu are reporting negligible production of plums and pears this year. The fruit crop failure is of serious concern, especially to the marginal farmers, whose livelihood depends on fruit production alone,” said Sunil Sharma, a grower from Kullu district.
