Two progressive farmers of Hoshiarpur district – Gurinder Singh Bajwa and Harman Randhawa – have pulled off an incredible feat by successfully growing apple trees in the plains of Punjab, a first for the state.
While Punjab government has been talking about crop diversification to save precious resources of water and soil, their effort will inspire the industrious farmers of the state who played a key role in making India a foodgrain-surplus nation during the Green Revolution and are now looking for a paradigm shift in cropping patterns.
They had planted 450 apple saplings of Anna and Dorsett varieties in 2011 and 2012 on 2.5 acres at Chohal village, which borders Himachal Pradesh, in the Kandi region of Punjab. After nearly 10 years of evolving techniques to grow apples in the foothills of Punjab under harsh climatic conditions, both have achieved commercial success in the sale of the fruit.
They say Anna and Dorsett varieties of apple can survive in the harsh, hot climate of Punjab unlike the fruit trees in temperate zones, which require a higher number of chilling hours for proper fruit setting.
Bajwa says average yield per plant of both varieties is about 35-40 kg each season. Giving details about the returns from apple orchard, Harman says about 230-250 saplings can be planted into rows per acre. “Distance between each plant is eight feet and the rows are 20 feet apart,” he informs. He says average yield of apple per acre can be about 250 boxes of 20kg each. “Let us assume apple is sold at Rs 50 per kg, then each box would fetch Rs 1,000, hence gross income per acre could be Rs 2.5 lakh in one season,” he says.
It is really an incredible job, Apple Orchards at Chohal , Distt. Hoshiarpur.
Kudos to the progressive farmers Harman Randhawa and G. S. Bajwa.
New avenues for the farming community indeed.
Anna and Dorsett
Thank you for writing in to us, Mr Grewal. Both these varieties are suitable for growing only in sub-mountainous areas. You can also do a bit of research on varieties of apple that are more suited for sub-tropical areas for a better idea.
I really appreciate for your work . This change will help to other farmers to cultivate multiple fruits varieties. In future fresh fruits and vegetables have a huge demand in the Market .so,keep it up sir
Can you please contact me through WhatsApp, +64212036220
I am very interested to grow apple trees
Hello Manpreet,
We are not into commercial horticulture. We just give information about agriculture and allied sector. However, you can contact the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana to get more information about growing apples in subtropical areas. It has recently recommended cultivation of Anna and Dorcett varieties that are suitable for growing in submountainous areas of Punjab.
Farming Comsmos team