As winter sets in, horticulture dept suggests measures for Himachal fruit growers to protect crops

Hamirpur (HP), Nov 21 (PTI) With the onset of winter, the horticulture department in Himachal Pradesh has suggested several measures for fruit growers to tackle the impact of fog and dry weather condition on their crops.

Falling temperature in the past few days and lack of rain have increased the likelihood of fog in many areas, said Rajeshwar Parmar, Deputy Director of the Horticulture Department in Hamirpur, one of the major fruit producing districts.

He suggested fruit growers to take special care to protect mango, papaya, litchi, and other plants as winter fog reduces humidity and low temperature causes plant cells to rupture, which often results in lower yields.

According to Parmar, fog affects citrus fruit crops as well as evergreen fruit plants such as mango, litchi, papaya, and guava.

In order to prevent the surface temperature from reaching freezing point and check frost damage, Parmar said farmers should regularly irrigate their plants, cover young plants with straw, leaving the southeast side open to allow sunlight exposure.

Also, burning dry leaves and grass in the evening can help increase temperature, he said, and advised mango growers to cover plants with nylon nets (50 per cent shade).

Additionally, applying appropriate amount of potash helps plants to tolerate fog, he said.

The official suggested applying fertilizers, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash, mixed with rotted cow dung, as a band application (continuous strip application), and cover with soil and grass mulch.

Besides, applying copper oxychloride or bordeaux mixture on plant stems could be helpful, he added. PTI COR BPL HVA