Govt advises orchardists to avoid pesticide spray on crops

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, May 1

The state government has advised the farmers to postpone pesticide spray and irrigation of orchards until Friday as the weather has not improved in the past two weeks.

The apple growers have been waiting for the improvement of weather for spraying the crops for the fourth time in the past two weeks.

As rain lashed Kashmir for the third consecutive day, the weather department advised the farmers to wait for an improvement of weather and “to postpone irrigation and spray of orchards till Friday”.

With continuing rain, the dip in temperature has adversely affected the bloom and could hit the production. Experts say the hail storm and unexpected rain may create a conducive environment for disease outbreaks as humidity may build up after such unusual short spells of rain.

“The dip in the temperature will lead to the fall of bloom and weakening of the shoots. Over the years, we have faced huge losses due to bad weather,” said Ghulam Hassan Rather, an apple grower.

Since March, the growers have sprayed pesticides thrice and a majority of them complained that the rain washed away the chemicals, he said.

The Rs 8,000-crore apple industry, which is Kashmir’s biggest economy, is in tatters due to government’s apathy and changing climatic conditions.

President of the Sopore Fruit Mandi Fayaz Malik said the government had failed to introduce the crop insurance scheme. “Despite being the backbone of J&K’s economy, the government has added to the miseries of the horticulture sector instead of promoting it,” said Malik.