Low Productivity in Apple: Strategies to Overcome

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I am continuing after a long gap for some technical reasons especially pertaining to internet problems I am facing in the Tribal Area. This post is in continuation with the previous posts on the Low productivity in Apple. Now I shall be discussing on the strategies for improving the production, productivity and quality of apples .

Following are the strategies that are needed to be adopted and farmers at field level are to be made aware of these strategies:

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There are two types of strategies viz. Short term strategies and Long term strategies

Today I shall be discussing only the Short Term Strategies

• Improving orchard management techniques in particular the training and pruning of apple plants. This is the most important and crucial practice and extension workers as well as farmers must be trained in this technique

• Plantation of an adequate number of pollinizing varieties and the introduction of honey bees for effective pollination

• Water, being vital to apple fruit production, farmers should develop their own water harvesting facilities and install the drip irrigation system in the orchards on a large scale

• Adoption of modern plant tissue analysis technique for the diagnosis of nutrition problems in apple orchards, and the formulation of fertilizer schedules for each orchard based on this technique

• Promotion of scientific soil and water conservation techniques in apple orchards

• Undertaking timely measures for the control of pests and diseases of economic importance by adoption of integrated spray schedules. For this purpose IPM strategies are also required.

• Provision of antihail nets for protecting the crop against hail damage

• Rejuvenation of old apple orchards through pruning and judicious fertilizer application

• Promotion of the concept of fruit thinning in Delicious group of cultivars which has tendency of alternative bearing

In the next post I shall be discussing the the Long Term Strategies to Overcome Productivity Problems