Simultaneously, sale of the kiwi trees is carried-out from time to time. And the demand for kiwis is very high both in the national and the international markets.Īt the moment, SKUAST-K is actively researching in the direction of improvising the kiwi plantation suitable specifically to the Kashmir region. One kg of dried Kiwis costs Rs.1800 in the market. Quite contrary to this, one unit of kiwi costs Rs.35 in the local market and one kiwi plant yields 70 kg of kiwis on an average. In the first week of November the average price of 18 kgs of Apples in Sopore Mandi peaked at Rs.350 which doesn’t even cover the half basic price of production. At the same time, the demand and prices for kiwis in the local, national and international markets is much stable as compared to that of apples. The overall maintenance of kiwi plantations is much easier and cheaper as compared to that of apples. This quality makes kiwis organic in nature, better fitting the contemporary market demand. There are no pesticides of any kind needed for kiwi plantations while on the other hand the apples of all types highly rely on a number of pesticides, insecticides and herbicides. ![]() Vegetables and other seasonal crops can be grown in-between the kiwi tress. The plantation takes much less land space than the apple trees. The plantation season for kiwi trees is February and March, while the irrigation season is May to July. The environmental conditions in both Himachal and Kashmir are equally preferable for kiwi production. Lately, Himachal orchardists have realized that diversification is important, and the immediate consequence has been a steady shift to kiwi production. In contemporary times the only state that is producing kiwis in India is Himachal Pradesh. The first step to diversification has been identified as a steady production of kiwi fruit. Looking through an alternative economic and horticultural lens, the complete reliance on apples as the sole and dominant outcome of the horticulture sector in Kashmir is a risk of putting all the eggs in one basket. Among many other factors, a predominant factor behind this was the bulk Indian import of Iranian and Turkish Apples that captured the market and wiped out the demand for Kashmiri apples. However, as the output was ready and entered the market, the returning price was the lowest registered in the previous decade. Given the demand and pricing trends of previous years, the expected outcomes from 2022 were anticipated to surpass the mean value of the previous decades by a double-digit. ![]() A wave of happiness ad optimism ran in the supply chain from orchardists to the dealers. The apple blooms in spring were studied and identified by the experts where it was predicted that the year from across the valley was going to deliver a bumper crop. The year 2022 has been identified as a bumper year of apple production in Kashmir (apart from other horticulture products). More or less on an annual basis, people have revealed satisfaction with the outcomes. This has ushered in a wave of optimism and people have been heavily investing in high-yielding apple varieties. ![]() For quite some time the output and outcomes from the orchards of Kashmir have been high. During the final decades of the 20th century, the region of Kashmir has seen a steady shift from paddy cultivation to apple cultivation. Given the environmental feasibility, Kashmir has been identified as one of India’s most dynamic horticulture hotspots. ![]() The horticulture sector is seen as the backbone of the Kashmir economy steadily replacing the tourism sector in terms of sustainability and future prospectus.
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