Srinagar: Apple growers in several areas of Kashmir are deeply concerned as a leaf miner pest continues to infect their orchards for the fourth consecutive year.
News agency KNO quoted many farmers as saying that the pest has wreaked havoc on their orchards over the past three years. “Wherever the pest was found in the last three years, the produce was less shiny and smaller in size, as this insect sucks all the nutrients from the trees,” they said.
Initially confined to the Zainapora area of Shopian district, the pest has now spread across almost the entire Kashmir region.
Experts said the spread of this disease is due to the rootstock imported from Italy and other countries, which require proper quarantine to check for diseases. They said that while some quarantine guidelines are followed at the governmental level, private companies often neglect these essential protocols, leading to outbreaks of such diseases.
Abbas Ahmad, a fruit-grower from Dachnipora in Anantnag, described how the pest lays web layers from one branch to another, even reaching the trunk and fruit. “This pest, numbering in millions, is sucking all nutrients from the tree, causing the fruit to remain small. It damages leaves and trees as well,” he said, adding that visitors to the pest-affected orchards have complained of allergies and other issues with their throats and noses.
Ahmad said the disease seems to spread faster in hot weather. “If you delay insecticide by just a day, the whole orchard gets involved,” he said.
Growers said that despite spraying insecticides several times each year, the pests keep reappearing. We have also observed premature fruit fall and reduced fruit quality and size in affected orchards, they said.
They said the prolonged dry spell has exacerbated the situation, with red mite infestations hitting many orchards. “We have been spraying pesticides, fungicides, insecticides and other treatments to maintain the quality of produce. However, the dry spell has led to smaller, less shiny, and less tasty fruit, especially from the orchards without irrigation facilities,” they said.
Bashir Ahmad Basheer, chairman of the Kashmir Valley Fruit Growers Cum Dealers Union, said that the prolonged dry spell will impact the horticulture sector and has caused potential losses due to low fruit quality. Pest like leaf miners and red mites also spread in hot weather, he added.
Senior scientists from Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir (SKUAST-K) have identified the pest as a “leaf miner” – an invasive insect that likely arrived here four or five years ago.
While leaf miners were reported some time ago, their presence has increased in the past two years. Despite this, the pest is manageable if growers consistently follow advisories, the scientists added. (With inputs from KNO)
