Over 19,800 plants sold on Day 1 of Nauni varsity’s annual sale

Over 19,800 plants were sold to 526 farmers at various nurseries in the much-anticipated annual sale of temperate fruit plants, which kicked-started on Monday at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni, as well as its krishi vigyan kendras (KVKs) and regional horticulture research and training stations (RHRTSs) located across the state.

Farmers from Himachal Pradesh and neighbouring states flocked these centres to purchase a wide range of fruit plants, including apple, pear, plum, apricot, peach, cherry, kiwifruit, walnut, persimmon, grapes and pomegranate etc.

On the first day, 362 farmers purchased over 15,250 plants from the three nurseries at the university’s main campus at Nauni, as well as KVKs at Kandaghat and Rohru and the RHRTSs at Mashobra (Shimla) and Sharbo (Kinnaur).

Additionally, over 4,596 plants of various fruit varieties have been sold to 164 farmers from the university’s RHRTS Bajaura, in Kullu district since December 8, taking the total number of sale to 19,846 plants.

A discernible interest has been registered in diversifying fruit crops, with high demand for persimmon, kiwifruit and other stone fruits, alongside different varieties of apples. The university has made a total of over 1.8 lakh plants available for sale across all locations. The sale is being conducted on a first-come, first-serve basis and will continue in the coming days.