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Rain may hit apple production

Staff Correspondent

Himachal growers worried, demand increase in support price Strange disease affecting the fruit due to lack of sunlight

SHIMLA: Apple production in the State is likely to go down as the `apple season' has been delayed by at least a fortnight due to heavy rain. "Dropping" of fruit is one another phenomenon that is fast catching up in some areas due to excess rain and low temperature.

The farmers of Kullu are also worried because of a strange disease affecting the fruit due to lack of sunlight. According to an estimate, more than 6500 metric tonnes of fruit is likely to be blemished by this problem. The disease has already spread to 6000 hectares of orchards in Kullu, Naggar and Banjar blocks.

However, fruit plucking has started in a few lower belts like Sanj in Kullu and lower Kotkhai and Theog in Shimla.

"The size of marketable apple is not picking up", said many growers. Due to heavy landslides, farmers are also facing problem in bringing the fruit to the markets.

The Horticulture Department has set up infrastructure for marketing apples and would be buying the fruit from the first week of August at three centres in Kullu, according to an official. More centres are likely to come up after August 15, he added.

The farmers are also demanding increase in the support price. The Government procurement centres are paying just Rs 3.75 per kg for the normal varieties while the same fruit goes for Rs 15 to 16 in the open market.

While big growers send their fruit directly to the major markets in Chennai, Bangalore, Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi, small and marginal peasants are dependent on local markets and they often get cheated, according to Kisan Sabha leaders of Kotkhai, a top apple producing area in the upper hills.

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Rain may hit apple production

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