Kashmir’s temperature variations worrisome for farmers

The bone chilling cold from last week and, as per the prediction, precipitation in the coming week, puts a question mark again on the expectations of bumper fruit crop, especially in higher elevations of Kashmir valley.

Unfortunately, from last many years, our peak apple bloom never had a few couple of sunny days to experience and that results in poor fruit set and frost injury.

In general, there is a range of temperatures over which damage occurs with more and more buds and flowers damaged at lower and lower temperatures until all the fruit buds are killed. Often the freeze will only damage some of the flowers such as the most developed ones or flowers in the bottom of the tree.

After a freeze, people often want to know how bad the damage was. It takes several hours for the symptoms to develop.

As frozen tissues thaw, they will turn brown or black if they were damaged or killed by the cold, revealing the extent of the damage. Experienced fruit growers can quickly assess the damage in the days following a freeze.

Freezing temperatures of 28 degrees Fahrenheit will result in about a 10 percent loss and 24 F in a 90 percent loss. In a radiation freeze with clear, calm conditions, fruit on higher sites or in the tops of trees will be less damaged than those at lower sites.

The percent of flowers killed in a frost may or may not relate directly to lost yield later in the season. With large-fruited fruits such as apples, peaches, plums and pears, the loss of 50 percent of the flower is not so devastating.

These temperatures variations and their impact on horticulture is worrisome for farmers.

The author is an Assistant Professor at SKUAST-Kashmir