Amaravati, Apr 26 (PTI) After several years of dominating India’s apple market, north Indian states Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh may see a challenger emerging from the southern part of the country, Andhra Pradesh, in the years to come.
The unexpected success of an enterprising state farmer in growing the temperate climate fruit in drought-prone Anantapur district has created a sensation, spurring the state government to look at the possibility of scaling up this novel horticultural activity.
The KLD apple variety’s adaptation to local conditions and realising higher prices than traditional growers in the northern states has sprung a surprise.
KV Ramana Reddy from Kotanka village in Garladinne mandal of the Rayalaseema district blazed a trail by cultivating this apple variety on a 2.5-acre field.
Procuring apple saplings from agriculture heavyweight Israel at around Rs 280 per plant, the pioneering farmer spent Rs 4.2 lakh on 1,500 saplings and employed 12 x 6 spacing cultivation method to yield one tonne apples for the first crop.
‘Apple cultivation has emerged as a novel horticultural activity in select mandals of Anantapuramu district…with early-stage results showing viable fruiting, good taste, and market prices of Rs 120 to 170 per kg — significantly higher than what growers in traditional apple regions of HP and J&K typically realise at the mandi (market),” a government source told PTI.
Emerging as an opportunity in non-traditional horticulture, 15 acres across Garladinna, Kundurpi, and Peddapappur mandals of Anantapur district, historically notorious for drought-like conditions, are now under apple cultivation.
Incidentally, Reddy’s apple orchard produced medium-sized fruits with good taste and went on to command a price of Rs 170 per kg for top grade and Rs 120 per kg for medium grade.
On comparing production economics between the Anantapur experimental apple cultivation and HP and J&K apples, it was observed that the fruits produced in the Rayalaseema district have commanded a higher market price of up to Rs 170 per kg, compared to anywhere between Rs 50 and Rs 100 per kg for the northern Indian varieties, said the source.
The key advantage for the Rayalaseema variety has been identified as off-season premium and early fruiting while HP apples enjoy an established supply chain mechanism.
Traditional Kashmir varieties have the advantages of scale, yield and brand value while high-density apple orchards in the region are renowned for their high productivity.
However, the strategic significance of the Anantapur apple story for the southern state includes off-season premium, compressed gestation, a semi-high-density model, diversification and farmer income potential.
“The Anantapur apple story, while nascent, carries several features of strategic interest. North Indian apples arrive in the markets between September and November. Anantapur fruit, with December flowering and a different harvest window could command sustained price premiums if quality and volumes are maintained,” the source pointed out.
Unlike the seven to eight years gestation period for HP and J&K apples, the KLD variety being grown in Anantapur begins yielding fruits from the second year itself, dramatically reducing the farmer’s payback period and risk exposure during the non-bearing phase.
Through the semi-high density plantation model, nearly 3,700 apple plants can be sown per hectare in Anantapur, compared to just 250 trees per hectare in traditional HP and J&K orchards.
The Anantapur model enables potentially higher yields per hectare at maturity, the source claimed, adding that apple cultivation also offers a diversification route for farmers in the drought-prone district.
If yields stabilise to three to five tonnes of apples per acre between the third and fifth year of plantation, the potential income for farmers at Rs 140 per kg could translate to between Rs 4.2 lakh and Rs 7 lakh per acre, multiple times more compared to the returns earned from a groundnut crop.
However, water availability, mite management, pollination, chilling hours, market sustainability and agronomic knowledge are some of the risk factors.
Considering that Anantapur district is drought-prone and apple is a water-intensive crop, the source emphasised that drip irrigation is essential, calling for assessing borewells and ponds under government schemes.
Observing that mites have already emerged as the primary pest, scaling up apple cultivation without pest management protocols could lead to rapid pest buildup.
As apples require cross-pollination, natural pollinators in non-traditional ecologies such as Anantapur may be insufficient, necessitating managed honey bee colonies, said the source.
The market sustainability of current price could also be a medium risk factor as expanding apple cultivation in Andhra Pradesh can erode the price premium.
Moreover, farmers lack agronomic knowledge and institutional support for apple-specific practices while extension services are currently not equipped for a temperate climate fruit like apple in Anantapur district.
Consequently, the state government should commission a feasibility study, establish demonstration plots, ensure water infrastructure support, develop pest management protocols, and evaluate pollinator availability.
Crucially, resisting premature scale-up of apple cultivation in the state until at least two to three full crop cycles are documented with reliable yield and quality data is important, the source added. PTI STH GDK SA
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.