The apple crop in India’s Himachal Pradesh is expected to drop by as much as 40 per cent this season on the back of poor rainfall and temperatures.
A lack of rainfall was compounded by a lack of chilling over the whole season, apart from a drop in temperature that adversely affected flowering over the 92,000ha of apple production in Himachal Pradesh.
“The crop is expected to be less this time as their was no snowfall during winters hence the chilling requirement for apple trees was not met,” said orchardist Suresh Sharma.
Pollinaters were also off-cue, with those varieties flowering earlier than other apple varieties, reported the Daily India.
“Normally the production is about 140,000 tonnes but the weather this time was not favourable,” said Naresh Sharma, deputy director of the state’s horticulture department. “We are expecting nearly a 40 per cent fall in apple production.”
Roughly 80 per cent of people in Himachal Pradesh are associated with the apple industry, the Daily India said.
