As the road network has made transportation easier, farmers have started spending more time on apple farming, which has become their main source of income.
What you should know
Farmers in Jumla are busy managing their apple orchards. Since last November, farmers have been busy with plant care, pruning, and fertilizer management.
Now, most of the time of farmers and agricultural technicians is spent in the orchards. After the road network made transportation easier, farmers have started spending time in apple farming, which has become the main source of income.
Dhanalakshmi Giri of Chandannath Municipality-9 said that the more attention she paid to orchard management, the more she could get the same amount of production. She said, “Apples are not growing as they used to. The problem of diseases is also increasing, and the size and quality of apples are poor. That is why we have to work hard on orchard management.”
She said that only when the orchards are managed can quality apple seeds that can compete in the market be provided. Currently, farmers in most orchards are doing the work of pruning, fertilizing and irrigation management of apples themselves.
Chief of the Agricultural Development Office Ram Bhakta Adhikari said that farmers have started managing orchards that have not been managed for years. ‘It has been observed that when plants spread unnecessarily, they block the sun and wind,’ said the office chief officer. ‘Instead of focusing only on fruit-bearing branches, energy is being spent on unnecessarily spreading branches. District-wide orchard management work is being done to reduce that.’
Disease management in orchards is still weak. Farmers tend to apply pesticides based on guesswork after seeing a disease. Farmers are not aware of the methods and timing of measures such as Nilothuto, lime, and Bodomixer. ‘Now, awareness activities are being carried out by focusing on that issue,’ said the office chief officer.
According to him, earlier, farmers were called to the office. Problems were being solved in the orchard. Now, agricultural technicians are reaching the orchards where problems are seen. Practical practice of disease control is being done with farmers by going to the orchards. Skills are also being provided in orchard management.
The Agricultural Development Office, Jumla, is providing orchard management skills by coordinating with the agricultural branches of 30 wards of 8 local levels of the district. Thirteen agricultural technicians have been trained as trainers in the district headquarters, Khalanga.
They are teaching farmers about the size, type and production of apples. According to the data of the Agriculture Office, more than 17,558 metric tons of apples were produced in the current fiscal year. Of which 5,591 quintals of apples were exported outside the district. The office estimates that this has brought in Rs 412.989,270 to the district.
Currently, apples have been planted in 4,445 hectares. Apples planted in 2,125 hectares are bearing fruit. There are 19,150 houses with apple orchards in Jumla.
