Javid Dar reviews fruit fall incidents; sets up Horticulture panel to fix causes, suggest corrective measures

SRINAGAR : Minister for Agriculture Production, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Cooperatives and Election Department, Javid Ahmad Dar, on Wednesday chaired a meeting to review the impact of recent fruit fall incidents across horticultural zones of Shopian and Anantnag districts.
The Minister took stock of the damage reported from various orchard belts and reviewed the ongoing measures for assessment and mitigation. He directed the officials to undertake a comprehensive ground-level survey to accurately quantify losses and ensure timely submission of reports.
The Minister emphasized the need for a broader response and called for an immediate assessment of fruit drop across major apple-growing districts, with specific focus on identifying vulnerable varieties and high-risk locations.
Stressing on quality control, he instructed the Enforcement Wing to intensify field inspections and take appropriate action against the sale of substandard or unauthorized pesticides and plant protection chemicals.
The Minister also directed for constitution of a committee headed by the Director Horticulture, Kashmir, to carry out a detailed assessment of the situation. The committee has been tasked with identifying the underlying causes of the incidents and submitting its report in a time bound manner.
He further instructed the officers to ensure wide dissemination of scientific recommendations on balanced nutrient management. He asked for providing necessary handholding support to the farmers regarding scientific orchard management practices to mitigate risk of recurrence of such incidents.
Senior officers including Director Agriculture Kashmir, Director Horticulture Kashmir, Director Enforcement J&K, Director HPMC and Director Horticulture (P&M) J&K besides other stakeholders attended the meeting.