What’s killing my apple tree?

Manoj J , shimla: May 19 2008 [from Insta Blogs]

As a child it was a joy to visit my apple orchard. Planted by my grand father it grew and flourished under the tender care of my father. Today maintaining it has been an uphill task. New trees simply don’t survive and older ones are dying fast. This is the story you will hear all over the apple-growing belt of Himachal Pradesh and farmers attribute this to climate change.

Over the years, fruit growers in Himachal have observed significant variations in climate. This awareness of climate change is based mainly on the associated impacts on the apple crop especially on blossoming, fruit setting, yield and increased incidences of pests and diseases.

Over all the climate is described as being much warmer and people perceive a definite reduction in snowfall over time. Not only has the actual amount of snowfall decreased but changes in timing of snowfall have also been noticed. Snowfall in December and January has become rare and the period of snowfall now extends through the months of February-March. There is also a perception that weather has become more erratic. For example the hottest month is no longer the traditional month of jeth (May-June) but has shifted ahead. Similarly, spring is colder and winters warmer than the usual.

Warmer climate has made it harder to get a decent crop in the lower and middle elevation belt and apple orchards have shifted to higher altitudes to find a cooler place to grow. Bajoura, located in the lower part of the Kullu valley, produced good quality apples about a few decades ago. Today, there is a general consensus that the lower limit of apples has now reached Raison about 30 kilometers up the valley. Similarly in the Kotgarh region, villages in the middle elevation belt produced some of the finest apples during the 1970s and early 1980s. Today farmers here are struggling to replant their orchards. A similar trend is noticed elsewhere in the state. Apple growers also attribute climate change to the increase in plant diseases and pests and an increasing numbers of sprays are now required for the routine control of pests.

As temperature continue to rise and rainfall becomes more erratic, apples are struggling to survive and cope with increasing stream of new pests and diseases. Large orchard owners may well survive this onslaught initially, but it is the small and medium farmers who are a worried lot.

Apple Growing Stages

It is fascinating to watch the growth of an apple from bud to mature fruit.

Buds
Dormant apple buds begin to swell in the early spring. The buds show a silver, fuzzy tissue then a green tip develops. This is the beginning of leaves; the leaves start growing, and as they fold back, they are called "mouse ears." After a few days, closed, hairy flower buds become visible.

The Flower Grows
As the flower buds grow, five green hairy sepals surround red petals. The flower stalks grow longer as the flower buds get bigger. White flowers tinged with pink burst open. The first flower in a cluster to open is known as the "king bloom." It often turns out to be the largest apple yielded from that cluster of blossoms.

Pollination Follows
White stalks flare from the center - these are the stamens, and they are topped with tiny yellow anthers that bear pollen. To lure honey bees, the blossoms produce a sweet nectar at the base of the petals. Bees move from blossom to blossom collecting pollen from the anthers on their hairy bodies; as they visit blossoms on other trees, the pollen rubs off on those blossoms. Stigma - When the blossoms have shed their pollen, the petals begin to wilt, and the anthers begin to shrivel. The female stigma becomes visible; this is where visiting bees deposited pollen. The stigma makes the pollen available to the ovary so that it can begin growing into an apple.

From Ovary to Apple
The petals begin falling.
The green sepals are still attached - as the ovary grows, the flared sepals turn upright, and the stamens shrivel and dry up. Below the sepals, fuzzy apples begin to grow rapidly. In about June, smaller apples drop from a cluster; this is called the "June" drop.

The Apples Mature
Several weeks later, soft hairs disappear from the developing apple. The expanding apples begin storing sugar. They get larger and turn green then red. Their weight makes them hang from their stems.

Visit Kotgarh and experience the richness of culture and the juicy apples straight off the trees.

Apple Blossom

It is almost springtime and your apple trees would soon be in full bloom.

The early-bloomers and the trees at low altitude are in full bloom (by mid March) with hundred of beautiful pink and white blossoms. Those beautiful apple blossoms, if pollinated, will each result in an apple.

You can get the best view of the Kotgarh valley in spring from Kumarsain.


Picture Credit : Rajat Jamwal

Some tips on how to make most of these blossoms:

# Remove a few, should help your fruit grow bigger and better.

# Place the freshly removed blossoms in a bowl in your bathroom to add a light fragrance and their beauty for the day.

# Use some of the blossoms to decorate the braids in your hair.