Bumper cherry crop is bringing happiness to apple growers in India

In Kashmir, apple is a cash crop, but this year's large cherry harvest has encouraged fruit growers to look beyond apples. At a time when apple harvesting is still four months away, apple farmers in Kashmir are happy to witness huge cherry crops in their orchards. According to Sayar Ahmad, a fruit producer from Shopian in south Kashmir, cherry production this year was 50 times more than the previous year. "Apples bring in roughly Rs 10-15 lakh per year," Ahmad, 30, added, "but cherry brings in income in the middle of the year." Apple producers in Kashmir plant cherry, apricot, and plum trees in their orchards to create a variety of fruit. Previously, fruit producers would take cherries home and never consider exporting the fruit variety, according to Ahmad. "Over the last five years, fruit growers have seen bumper cherry harvests, allowing them to earn Rs 3-5 lakh at a time when they require income to invest in apple cultivation and orchard management." Apart from Shopian, ...