Apple growers bat for virus free plant material

Kuldeep Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, October 24

Apple growers have demanded DNA tested virus-free certified plant material that can fit the bill in the hilly terrain and climate so that they earn more than what they have been earning from old orchards of seedling varieties.

Disease-free plant material of Geneva series should be imported under the Rs 1143-crore modernisation project, they said. They learnt about the latest new root stock apple varieties from the US team here.

The farmers made these observations after they interacted with Dr Win Cowgill, a pomologist and horticultural consultant from Win Enterprises International, the USA, Dr Amit Dhingra, associate professor, Washing State University and Tim O’ Brien, who visited apple orchards in Jubbal and Kotkhai and the state fruit research centre, Mashobra.

The American consultants are here to present their “smart orchard plant material” and sell these to the farmers under the Rs 1143 crore horticulture modernization project that aims at bridging the gap between Himachal and the best apple producing counties.

Prof Win said the latest G-series was the future for the growers. “The plant material is virus-free, DNA tested and can bear 20 per cent fruit in the second year and it takes care of the mortality triggered by the replanting diseases”, he said here.

Dr Win cited different apple orchards system and new fruit economics for farmers who face challenges of how to rejuvenate old orchards in the face of lack of irrigation and virus-free plant material. “The growers have to make a phase wise switchover to the latest DNA tested root stock apple varieties as Himachal is about 70 years behind the growers in the USA and Europe”, observed Dr Amit.

The farmers need to make a slow but sure switchover to the latest Geneva series and some farmers have already taken a lead here, said Lakshman Thakur, chairman Eco-horts, Nandopur, who also interacted with the USA team.

But farmers demanded that the horticultural department should ensure that Geneva series root-stock turned out to be successful in different altitude.

The root borers and plant replacement diseases and lack of irrigation are big problems here that keep plant mortality high and decrease yield.