Gandaki, 14 November: Pokhara is the main market for Mustang apples. The demand for apples in Pokhara is increasing. About 90 percent of the total apples produced in Mustang are consumed in Pokhara. Rajan Sherpa, the owner of ‘Tukuche Apple Nursery’, who has been cultivating apples commercially for a long time, said that there is no problem for the market as because of the increasing number of tourists in Mustang.
In addition to Pokhara, apples from here are also consumed in other markets of the country including Kathmandu. “There is no problem in the market to sell apples if they can be produced”, Sherpa said, “Apples produced here are bought by the contractor at wholesale price.” Farmers say that apple cultivation has been done traditionally in the past, but recently, the production has increased due to the high-density apple orchard program based on the latest technology. “In the nursery, we have produced high density apple seedlings brought from the Netherlands”, Sherpa said, “The produced seedlings have reached the upper Dolpa, Rukum, Rolpa and other places.” He informed that up to 18,000 apple plants are being sold and distributed annually.
Commercial cultivation of apple, which is the main fruit crop of Mustang, started only after 2022. In the year 2022, the then Ministry of Agriculture, Fruit Horticulture Department brought apple seedlings from Kashmir, India and distributed them in Mustang with the help of the Indian Embassy. According to local residents, at that time, three to three apple plants were distributed to each house. Since then, the commercial cultivation of apples has gained momentum every year. Along with apple trade, the locals have also started making alcohol from it.
Rajesh Gurung, head of Agricultural Knowledge Center Mustang, informed that the interest of farmers towards apple cultivation is increasing in Mustang in recent years. According to him, apples are being cultivated in a total area of ​​890 hectares in Mustang, while apples are being produced in 616 hectares. Apples worth Rs 91.86 million were sold in the district last year, 90 percent of which were sold outside the district.
In the district, local apple varieties like Red Delicious, Royal Delicious, Golden Delicious, Richa Red Delicious, Fuji as well as advanced varieties Mala Maya, Red Delicious Kingrot, Fuji K Ku Fubrix, Golden May delicious apple have been cultivated. Chief Rajesh Gurung informed that apple production has increased by 30 to 35 percent in recent years.
“Recently, farmers have become attracted to planting apples in high density technology”, he said. According to Chief Gurung, the production of apples is increasing after giving priority to the management of pests through the Agricultural Knowledge Center, Prime Minister’s Agriculture Modernization Project Implementation Unit, Temperate Horticulture Development Center and in coordination with the local level. Local residents say that despite the rise in temperature in recent years, apple cultivation is increasing in the upper areas of Mustang. Commercial apple cultivation is being done in Tukuche, Marfa, Jomsom, Thini, Khinga, Chusang, Kagbeni and other places of Mustang. Niraj Thakali of Thini said that especially in Mustang, apples of varieties that produce more than local varieties have been planted.
After the increase in the production of apples, the planting of local crops such as Uwa, Phapar has been stopped. “As the production of apples started to increase, farmers started planting apples in the places where local crops were grown”, Thakali said, “Since the arable land in the Himalayan region is less, the farmers are starting to find the best way to cultivate in a small amount of land.” Thakali informed that apples are being sold at Rs 150 per kg from the garden. “The demand for apples here is increasing in the market. But the production has not been done according to the demand”, he said, “The production has finished this year, but the demand is the same.”
The local varieties of apples bear fruit only after seven to eight years of planting, while the high-density apple trees bear fruit only after two or three years, so the farmers’ interest in this field has increased. Generally, apple blossoms in March and April, bears fruit in May and ripens and goes to the market after the second week of August.
