Srinagar: Kashmir has witnessed a bumper crop of almonds this year due to favourable weather conditions.
“We are fortunate that the weather this year was very favourable so far as almond cultivation is concerned. In previous years, weather factors led to reduced production. But by God’s grace, favourable weather this year resulted in good production,” Riyaz Ahmad Shah, Chief Horticulture Officer Pulwama, told PTI.
He said the almond growers are satisfied that this year, comparatively, there is a significant increase in production compared to the last two or three years.
“However, their demand is that the Agriculture and Horticulture Departments should give as much attention to almond farming,” he said.
Shah said timely advisories to orchard owners by the horticulture department also helped the farmers in improving the produce of the almonds.
“We ensured they received technical advice on time regarding recommended practices from the Agricultural University. We communicated details about timely pesticide sprays and fertiliser application. All these factors, combined with the hard work of the almond orchard owners, contributed to this success, and they deserve the credit,” he added.
Ghulam Mohammad Bhat, an almond grower, said the produce has improved this year compared to last year, but the yield has been gradually decreasing over the past three decades.
“The yield of almonds was very high in Kashmir earlier. I remember very well that from Awantipora, Tral, Beerwah, to Mattan and the Karewa area around there were only almond trees everywhere. Around 20 to 25 truckloads of almonds were sent daily from here to outside markets,” Bhat said.
He said almonds from Pulwama used to go to Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai for further distribution all across India.
Bhat said climate change has drastically affected the almond crop over the years.
“The weather became unpredictable; sometimes droughts occurred, and sometimes there were heavy rains. The weather lost its natural balance, and the biggest impact of this was on the almond trees,” he said, adding that the almond trees began to dry up due to dry spells and intense heat that reached up to 36 degrees Celsius.
The farmers shifted their attention to other crops like apples, which flourished, he said.
Bhat claimed that there was neglect from official stakeholders, which led to a shrinking of land under almond cultivation.
“The field staff of SKUAST or the horticulture department never visited the villages to advise farmers on how to manage these almond orchards, unlike the way they currently focus on apple farming,” he claimed.
