Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
4.1 INTRODUCTION
The low productivity of apple has become a serious concern for the farm-
ers, research workers and development agencies at national and state level
for the last two decades. Several factors can be attributed to the declining
trend in productivity like expansion of apple cultivation to marginal areas,
monoculture of Delicious varieties, declining standards of orchard man-
agement and the fluctuating abnormal climatic conditions.
The productivity of temperate fruits especially apple in Himachal
Pradesh is declining at a faster rate. Average yield of apple in India has
been estimated at about 6 tons per hectare, which is far below the level of
30 tons per hectare in most advanced countries. The productivity has also
not kept pace with the expansion in areas under temperate fruits due to
various biotic and abiotic problems faced by the farmers in the Himalayas.
This has caused a serious concern not only to the hill farmer community
but also to researchers, development agencies and policy planners. With
the global warming, the decline in productivity is being mainly attributed
to changing climatic scenario.
4.2 LOW PRODUCTIVITY OF APPLE IN HP: WHY SUCH A
SITUATION?
Causes of low productivity analyzed through various technical reports fol-
lowed by a brain storming session with scientists and subject mater spe-
cialists were accessed in farmers' fields and in the experimental research
stations of the different apple growing areas of Himalayan states in general
and HP in particular. The below mentioned climatic and varietal biodiver-
sity causes were identified on the basis of various inputs as most important
factors for the low productivity in apple.
4.2.1 VARIETAL BIODIVERSITY
In Himachal Pradesh, Delicious group of varieties constitute about 83
percent of the total production of apples, the predominant varieties being
Starking Delicious, Red Delicious and Richard. These varieties are self-
unfruitful and require cross-pollination for fruitfulness. Moreover, these
