Untimely snow in Shimla, Kinnaur leaves apple growers jittery

Shimla, April 22

The cold wave sweeping the region has left apple growers worried. For the past three days, rain, hailstorm and snow have lashed apple-growing belt in Shimla and Kinnaur.

“It has been snowing here intermittently for the last three days. The snow has occurred at the time of flowering, causing damage,” said Narayan Negi from Reckong Peo in Kinnaur. He further said it had snowed 7-8 inches almost everywhere in Kinnaur, leading to anxiety among the growers. “It’s rare to have snowfall post mid-April and that too 7-8 inches. I feel our 60 per cent crop has damaged. Trees too have suffered damage,” he said.

Many places, including Narkanda, have been hit by hailstorm that has caused more damage than the snow. “We had seen a fierce hailstorm on Wednesday for about half an hour. It tore apart the anti-hail nets, broke the structure supporting the nets, and damaged flowers,” said Rajesh Sharma from Narkanda.

Harish Chauhan, an orchardist from Rohru, said the disturbance in weather would adversely affect the production. “The weather has become unpredictable for the last few years. The government and other stakeholders will need to see if it’s because of climate change. The government should also assess the damage growers have suffered,” said Chauhan.

SP Bhardwaj, a former joint director with the Nauni university, has different point of view. He said snowfall and rain would not have adverse effect on crop setting unless petals were damaged. “The amount of rain we have had will have a positive effect on the crop. Now, plants can do without rain for at least one and a half month, and it will also help fruit attain a bigger size,” he said. — TNS