Horticulture Department to Expand Kiwi Plantation in Kashmir
Nursery Today Desk
New Delhi: Kiwi plantations are actively being expanded in North Kashmir by the Horticulture Department Kashmir, which has also successfully grown them in five of its own nurseries to further promote this fruit.
The agency has been working hard to spread kiwi plantations over the past ten years, and its efforts have paid off, as many farmers have been successful in starting their own orchards.
The Department of Horticulture has been expanding its horizons to produce kiwi plants in Baramulla, according to Joint Director Zahoor Ahmad, and is seeking to extend planting on about 20 more kanals of land in the upcoming year.
Zahoor says, ‘We cultivate the Kiwi plants, in the horticultural nurseries at Khujabagh, Nowpora, Uri, Pattan, and Pattan Extension. A total of 15 orchardists have established orchards in Baramulla, and numerous individuals have also planted kiwi plants.’
The five government-run kiwi nurseries serve as training grounds for farmers, teaching them about the benefits and drawbacks of plantations as well as ways to increase yield and fruit size.
“One of the department’s main areas of attention is that kiwi fruit should be saved for commercial use. To gain weight, we have been using a variety of techniques, such as fruit plant thinning,” he added.
The Joint Director also disclosed that the government had preserved a clause in the Holistic Agriculture Development Program (HADP) that would allow the department to provide farmers with kiwi orchards at subsidy rates similar to those for apple, pear, and walnut orchards.
For farmers to have access to the plants locally and aid in their future promotion and propagation, the government has been trying to grow plants in nurseries. He noted that in Uri, “it has been observed that the size of the fruit is good due to good temperature.”
In Kashmir, the fruit is picked in November. Kiwi doesn’t require pesticides or manure. It requires a land that is both arid and dry. It also needs irrigation capabilities, he continued.
On the other hand, Kiwi is used as a dry fruit, according to Ahmad, who said that farmers can sell small Kiwi as a dry fruit wherever the fruit is grown and that it is also utilized on special occasions. The department has been promoting the planting of kiwi plants among farmers through a variety of educational activities.
According to officials, the farmers who have grown kiwi have enjoyed good harvests, and more and more farmers are expressing interest in doing so.
Kiwi production in Kashmir has good potential, according to subject matter expert Mohammad Amin Bhat of the Department of Horticulture in Kashmir, and it is grown there, particularly in the north.
Even though Kiwi quality won’t match what the global market wants, subject matter expert stated it can draw a healthy local market in the valley.
“In the coming years, the department will take some steps so that more land is identified and explored for Kiwi production across different areas in Kashmir,” he declared.
