Rains cloud hope of bumper crop

NEW DELHI: While people in the northern cities are reveling in a spell of good weather thanks to unexpected rains, the news from the countryside is far from cheerful. Unseasonal squalls and sudden drop in temperature have left orchardists and farmers deeply worried, particularly in Himachal’s fruit-yielding towns of Mandhol, Jubbal, Kharapatthar and Rohru.They were expecting a bumper crop of apples and plums, but these have come crashing down. There are distressing sights hereabouts: fully blossomed trees unable to hold the petals.
Horticulturists say cold at this time of the year will cause motion effect on blooming of flowers in the crop. In layman’s terms, there will be no fruit blossoms. With the Met office predicting more rain and snow in the higher reaches, and even hailstorm, the farmers are bracing for an unexpectedly harsh spring.
“Low temperatures during the flower setting period can effect flowering and hinders fertilization as well as pollination,” said Dr SV Thakur, associate director, Regional Horticulture Research Station at Mashobra. He added, “The flowers are open for a certain period, four hours a day, and rain or hail might disrupt fertilization and keep honey bees away from doing the pollination.”
Himachal has more than 97,000 hectares under apple cultivation. Shimla accounts for nearly 80% of the yield. Hailstorms and rains have already damaged more than 50 per cent of plum harvest. Across the state, 80% of plum crops in Kullu, Bhunter, Sainj, Lag Valley, Kharahal are hit. “Cold and rain are killing insects, bees and butterflies, necessary for pollination,” said Bimal Sharma, a fruit grower in Talaiti village of Kharahal valley.
Rains are predicted across the north with eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya to experience a wet spell. Gangetic West Bengal, Orissa, Bihar and Jharkhand, too, are expected to get showers. Uttarakhand and West UP, too, won’t be spared.
Western disturbances over Jammu & Kashmir and neighbourhood persist. These would move east and northeastwards. The cyclonic circulation over West Bengal and Sikkim and neighborhood has become less marked. But not everyone even among the farmers is complaining. In Kashmir Valley, where there has been incessant rain, farmer Ghulam Mohammed Rather of Ganderbal said, “These rains are a godsend for us. They will help better oilseed crop and good fodder growth in the fields this season.”