‘364 ha of land to come under area expansion scheme’

Srinagar, Aug 19: Area Expansion Scheme of the Horticulture Department has achieved a new milestone with the department planning to bring 364 hectares of land under the scheme this year.
Subject Matter Specialist, Directorate of Horticulture Kashmir, Mohd Amin Bhat said the department has a target to bring 364 hectares of land under expansion scheme this year.
“In 2022, over 162 hectares of land was brought under cultivation under the Area Expansion Scheme in the valley and it includes crops like apple, cherry, grapes, walnut etc.,” he said.
In 2022, the Horticulture Department included 10 more crops in Jammu and Kashmir under area expansion scheme which mainly includes apple, pear, cherry, peach, apricot, walnut, almond, kiwi etc.
“We are working on area expansion and now are getting more and more area under cultivation of these crops,” he said.
Bhat said earlier the scheme was focussed on the traditional fruit plants. However, under the intensified program, the department now focuses on medium-density plants.
“The scheme works under the CAPEX and the department provides 80 percent subsidy on fruit plants to the farmers,” he said.
He mentioned that the horticulture department is actively focusing on cultivating medium-density plants to enhance fruit production, ultimately benefiting the farmers.
“Earlier, we would focus on traditional plantations where we would plant limited trees. In traditional varieties we would only plant 270 apple plants per hectare of land. However, under the medium density, we can now plant 950 plants per hectare to improve production,” Bhat said.
He said in traditional apple plantation, trees would start bearing fruits in the seventh or eighth year of plantation and reach full production almost after 15 years of plantation.
“However, in medium-density apple trees start bearing in the second or third year of planting and reach full production in the 4th year,” he said.
Bhat also said that it is aimed to improve the quantity as well as quality of the fruit. “New varieties are market friendly and market competitive and can fetch good returns in the market,” he said.
The horticulture sector plays an important role in J&K and it is an important source of economy and source of livelihood for a substantial portion of the population.
The area expansion scheme is being implemented in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir for various fruits. The scheme was formulated to achieve the objective of enhanced production and productivity and raising the income of farmers.