Srinagar, May 11: On the instructions of Financial Commissioner/Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department, GoJK and Vice-Chancellor SKUAST-K, a team of scientists from the Division of Entomology, Faculty of Horticulture, SKUAST-K along with officers from Department of Horticulture, Government of J&K visited various apple orchards of north Kashmir’s Baramulla on May 9 and assessed the present status of apple fruit borer.
The team found adult moths emerged at different locations as indicated by catches found on pheromone traps, the SKUAST-K said in a statement issued here, adding that it has already issued an ADHOC advisory to the orchardists, advising them to manage this pest and ensure orchard sanitation on a community basis.
To gather feedback about pest infestation, SKUAST-K has generated a Google form that has been extensively shared with orchardists by the Department of Horticulture and Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) to collect feedback so that different zones – Red, Yellow and Green – are marked and pest management strategies formulated accordingly. “5264 responses across different districts of Kashmir valley have been received so far,” it said.