The Jammu region, with its diverse landscapes stretching from subtropical plains to temperate highlands, is rapidly emerging as a promising hub for fruit cultivation. From elevations as low as 300 meters to heights exceeding 4,000 meters, its varied agro-climatic zones offer a rare advantage—the capacity to nurture a wide range of fruits, from mangoes and kinnows in the plains to apples and walnuts in the upper hills. Yet, despite this natural bounty, the region’s fruit sector has long been constrained by rainfed farming, poor infrastructure, and limited market connectivity. Encouragingly, recent policy interventions and the growing enthusiasm for high-density orchards have begun to drive a quiet horticultural transformation.
The Jammu division represents the sub-tropical complement to Kashmir’s celebrated apple belt. Districts such as Jammu, Samba, Kathua, Udhampur, Reasi, and Rajouri are ideally suited for mango, citrus, guava, litchi, ber, and aonla cultivation. In the mid-altitude zones—often described as the “intermediate belt”—farmers grow kiwi, olive, pomegranate, peaches, plums, apricots, and pears, while the higher elevations in Doda, Poonch, and Reasi support promising plantations of apple and walnut. As per official data, the total horticultural area in Jammu and Kashmir has risen from about 3.35 lakh hectares in 2020–21 to around 3.45 lakh hectares in 2023–24, with fruit production increasing from 22.3 lakh metric tonnes to over 26 lakh metric tonnes. Although apples continue to dominate the Union Territory’s horticultural landscape, Jammu’s sub-tropical fruit economy is steadily expanding its footprint.
However, several challenges persist. Nearly 80 percent of Jammu’s horticultural area remains rainfed, making production highly vulnerable to erratic rainfall. Even a brief dry spell during fruit set or maturity can devastate yields and fruit quality. Expanding micro-irrigation systems and water harvesting structures is essential to ensure consistency and productivity. Climate variability adds another layer of complexity—hot winds in the plains, erratic monsoons, and frost in the hills demand location-specific cultivars and adaptive orchard management practices. In addition, the lack of post-harvest infrastructure such as pre-cooling units, grading lines, and cold storage forces farmers to sell perishable fruits quickly at suboptimal prices.
Government initiatives have started addressing some of these gaps. The Modified High-Density Plantation (HDP) Programme, implemented by the Department of Horticulture, has extended beyond temperate fruits to include sub-tropical varieties like mango, citrus, dragon fruit, and litchi. The response from farmers has been overwhelming: against a target of 1,300 hectares in 2024–25, applications were received for over 7,000 hectares. These high-density orchards, with improved rootstocks and closer spacing, promise three to four times higher productivity compared to traditional systems and have rekindled optimism among orchardists.
In the years ahead, growth opportunities lie in expanding these high-density plantations, modernizing irrigation, rejuvenating old orchards with new cultivars, and building robust post-harvest infrastructure. The establishment of pack-houses, cold rooms, and ripening chambers at cluster levels can drastically reduce losses and improve market returns. Equally, promoting fruit processing—into pulp, juice, nectar, and dehydrated products—will add value and create rural employment. There is also growing export potential, particularly to Gulf countries, for kinnow, litchi, and guava.
Technology, too, is beginning to play a transformative role. Under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme, SKUAST-Jammu has started exploring digital and sensor-based tools that use artificial intelligence and machine learning for pest surveillance, irrigation scheduling, and crop monitoring. Farmers can now receive mobile-based advisories and real-time data for scientific orchard management, reducing risk and uncertainty.
Looking ahead, the focus must remain on irrigation, high-density planting, and market infrastructure in the immediate term, followed by processing and export readiness over the next decade. With strategic investment, innovation, and farmer training, Jammu’s fruit sector can evolve into a powerhouse of sub-tropical horticulture—complementing Kashmir’s temperate belt and transforming the rural economy.
If irrigation and storage are strengthened, Jammu can one day be as renowned for its litchi, kinnow, and mangoes as Kashmir is for its apples.
The writer, Prof. (Dr.) Parshant Bakshi, is Head, Division of Fruit Science, SKUAST-Jammu.
