Mir Mudasir
Rafiabad, the north Kashmir region in Baramulla district which is surrounded by majestic Qazinag mountain range, the apple orchards are in full spring bloom. This spring the flowering began in orchards earlier due to rising temperature and deficit rainfall.
Here in this place every hamlet has a couple or single orchard and which for many people is the only source of their livelihood. And the villages of Rafiabad being close to Sopore Fruit Mandi has been an added bonus. With every passing year new orchards including high density orchards came up in the area that is also known as Apple bowl of Kashmir.
However, most of the orchards in Rafiabad are located in Kerawas, the growers are worried due to the continuous dry spell in the region. If it prolongs, many orchards will get damaged. The dry spell in March and April has left Valley fruit growers worried as they consider it as harmful for the fruit.
The dry spell in March and first week of April has left the Valley’s fruit growers worried as it may affect yield. March, which is usually considered the wettest month of the year, saw very few spells of rain this time. The summer capital of J&K, Srinagar, recorded its hottest March since 1891, when collection of weather data in Kashmir was started.
Director General of horticulture, Ajaz Ahmad Bhat, said, “The higher temperatures have left fruit growers worried. If the dry weather conditions continue to prevail, the crops could be adversely affected.”
Bhat said that the orchards in Karewas and new plantations are quite susceptible to warm climatic conditions and could face damage. “To counter the situation, orchardists should irrigate their orchards, besides mulching, which is known to conserve soil moisture.
Whitewashing the trunk in the spring helps the tree stay cool, as it reflects sunlight and heat away. A cooler tree has less stress and can open its stomata longer for gas exchange.
More carbon dioxide into the tree gives it more energy for vegetative and fruiting growth. It will also help in preventing sunburn and cracking of trunk surface,” he said while giving advice to growers on how to tackle dry spell.
The lack of rainfall can also impact the season’s first cash crops like cherry, peach, apricots and plums. Growers say they will start to harvest cherry fruit next month and for better yield, rains are mandatory.
Weather experts believe the current dry spell is a result of global warming.
“The world is moving more towards global warming after beginning its journey from the Ice Age. Specifically this year, hot and dry winds are prevailing over Jammu and Kashmir,” said Mohammad Hussain Mir, meteorologist at Srinagar centre of IMD.
“The winds from the Mediterranean, which flow over J&K, are coming over from dry areas. From the Mediterranean, these follow the route of West Asia Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan and at no place are they able to absorb moisture,” he said.
“My orchard is located on an elevation and if it doesn’t rain in the coming days or weeks, the trees will dry. I will harvest all the fruit,” said Maqbool Malik, a grower from Laser Rafiabad. He said that rainfall in March and April is very useful for the fruits, especially early varieties. Unfortunately, this year the winter has been warmer and spring passed without rainfall. We pray to the almighty it should rain otherwise the growers will lose more than 60 to 70 percent of their crop in coming months.”
Another grower Irshad Ahmad from Dangerpora said the fruit industry is already under stress due to various factors, now this is an added worry for all of us. “We are very much disturbed. This is the case across Kashmir and the fruit industry is our lifeline,” he said. Jammu and Kashmir has received large deficient rain (<-80%) due to absence of any strong western disturbance, a meteorological department official said.
“Jammu city received only 2.1mm against normal of 68mm (96%) and Srinagar city received 21.3mm of rainfall as against normal of 117.6mm (81.88%).” This is not the first time that below normal rainfall was recorded in J&K,” MeT Director Sonum Lotus said.
He said due to absence of any strong western disturbance and stable atmosphere, weather remained fair and mainly clear on most occasions which led to early onset of spring and above normal temperature compared to the last few years.
“Mean temperature in Jammu city in March this year was 23.3 ℃ which is quite high but not unusual as mean temperature even touched 24℃ in 2004 and 2010. “Mean temperature in Srinagar city in March 2022 was 13.7 ℃ which is quite high but not unusual as mean temperature touched 13.6 and 13.7 ℃ in 2004 & 2010 also in Srinagar,” he said.
The timely rainfall is mandatory for first varieties of fruit like Peach, apricot, cherry, pear and early varieties of apples. The fruit industry is around 8 to 10 percent of J&K’s GDP and around two million people are directly or indirectly dependent on this trade. Any loss to this industry will be felt across Kashmir.
