MANGALURU: Apples grown in Karnataka? A few years ago, it may have been unthinkable. But a set of committed farmers in the state has shown that the fruit, which is native to the Himalayan foothills, can be grown in namma tropical Karnataka too.
Farmers like ‘Sebu’ Krishna Shetty from Mangaluru, Chandre Gowda from Chikkamagaluru district, Anantha from Sringeri, Romila D’Silva from Somwarpet in Kodagu district, Gangadhar Murthy from Tumakuru and many progressive farmers from Harihara, Tarikeri and Mysuru have taken to apple farming and tasted sweet success. They owe this success to Chiranjit Parmar, a fruit scientist based in Mandi, Himachal Pradesh. It was Parmar who sowed the idea of apple farming in their minds in 2011, while on a visit to Karnataka. He presented them with apple saplings and showed them the right techniques of cultivation.
Since then, there has been no looking back. Gangadhar Murthy from Tumakuru was the first farmer to harvest apples in 2012. This year, Rajyotsava awardee Chandre Gowda from Lakshmipura, Chikkamagaluru, has raised hopes of commercial production by harvesting nearly 25 kilos of apple.
There have been setbacks too but that hasn’t deterred the farmers. Sebu Krishna Shetty, who coordinates the supply of apple saplings with Parmar, said 50 saplings planted in his farm in Uppinangady have begun flowering. However, the trees have failed to yield apples this time as the roots rot during monsoon.
Farmers who practise organic farming ensure that water does not stagnate and that apple trees are not exposed to direct sunlight. Parmar, on his part, is happy that his efforts haven’t gone waste. “When I first stated that apples can be grown in Karnataka, horticulturists in agricultural institutions laughed at me and said it was next to impossible,’’ he recalled.
The fruit scientist, with over 50 years of experience in horticultural sector, had come down to Karnataka after being inspired by what he saw in Batu near Java islands in Indonesia. “When I visited Batu in 2009, I saw farmers growing apples in a region that has no winter at all. The yield was about 56 tonnes per hectare, which is 10 times higher than Himachal Pradesh.
Though weather conditions in Batu are similar to Karnataka, the initiative to grow apples did not find acceptance with agricultural institutes,’’ he said. Parmar acknowledges the help rendered by water conservation activist and jackfruit ambassador Shree Padre. In 2011, 300 saplings were sent by air and in the following year the number of saplings was doubled.
“The saplings are sent by air as they have to be planted within two days,’’ Parmar said. Padre and Shetty ensured that farmers received the saplings. By 2015, there were more than 6,000 apple trees. “Now as they are growing at many places I have lost count,’’ he said with a distinct pride in his voice.