Mother orchard established in Ganderbal to promote high-yielding fruit varieties

Umar Raina
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21 Feb 2026

Ganderbal, Feb 21: In a significant step towards promoting high-yielding and improved fruit varieties among local growers, the Horticulture Department has established a two-hectare mother orchard at the Fruit Plant Nursery in Ganderbal district. The initiative aims to multiply quality planting material locally and make new and improved fruit varieties available to farmers at affordable government rates. In-charge of the nursery said the primary objective is the multiplication of various fruit plants, including apple, peach, apricot and other stone fruits. “The main purpose of this nursery is to import different varieties of plants from outside and develop them here so that farmers can benefit. Imported plants are very expensive, but the plants developed in this nursery are available at much lower rates,” he said. According to officials, the nursery currently has around 100 mother plants and includes a wide range of apple varieties such as Terracis, Nema, Shenique Red, RD-11 and Z1. Cherry varieties, including Regina and Cordia, are also available, along with stone fruits like Plum and Black Amber. Bhat said that different types of rootstocks, such as M90, M37, MM106 and MM111, are being multiplied to ensure quality and disease-resistant planting material for orchardists. Regular pesticide sprays are carried out throughout the year to protect plants from fungal and other diseases and maintain the health of nursery stock. District Horticulture officer, Manzoor Ahmad Dar said several horticulture schemes are currently being implemented in Ganderbal, including the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme (HADP), the Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), and other centrally and state-sponsored schemes. He informed that there are four nurseries in the district — Fruit Plant Nursery Vusan, Model Vineyard at Kullarbagh, nursery at Raipora and the largest Tahsil Bagh Nursery spread over nearly nine hectares. “At Tahsil Bagh Nursery, we cultivate wide varieties of apple and stone fruits and provide them to people at government rates. The mother orchard was established to ensure the availability of new varieties and quality graft wood or bud wood for further multiplication in orchards,” he said. Dar added that the plantation season has commenced from February 15 and will continue till the end of March, with farmers visiting the nursery daily to procure plants. He further said that grafted walnut plants, a speciality of Ganderbal, are also available in the nursery with eight improved varieties. Plans are also underway to introduce and multiply M9 Rootstock T-337 in the district to further boost productivity. Officials said the mother orchard will serve as a reliable source of authentic and improved planting material, enabling farmers to adopt new fruit varieties and enhance overall horticultural productivity in the region.