If apple trees do not get fertilisers at the right time, it will result in less flowering, less production and low quality apples
Horticulture hotspot Himachal Pradesh is facing a shortage of chemical fertilisers at a time when the state’s 200,000 apple orchards are in need of them.
Just 22,598 tonnes of chemical fertilisers have been distributed among the state’s farmers by HIMFED till now, with only a month left for the current financial year to end. Some 74,604 tonnes were distributed by HIMFED last year.
HIMFED stands for the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Marketing and Consumers’ Federation Ltd. It is the apex cooperative marketing federation of Himachal Pradesh.
SP Bhardwaj, a horticulture expert, told Down To Earth that apple plants need nutrients before work can be started on the next crop after the harvest. It is currently the right time to provide nutrients to apple plants through fertilisers.
If apple trees do not get fertilisers at the right time, it will result in less flowering, less production and low quality apples.
“Therefore, the government should provide fertilisers to farmers at the right time so that they can be saved from losses,” Bhardwaj said.
Sanjay Chauhan, convener of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, claimed that the government had failed to provide timely fertilisers to farmers.
After snowfall in the months of January and February, farmers must put fertilisers in their orchards on priority. “But the fertilisers required today are not being made available by the government and the prices of fertilisers in the open market have increased drastically as compared to last year,” he said.
It is now time to put potash 12:32:16 and NPK 15:15:15. But these are not available. Farmers are being forced to buy fertilisers not approved by agriculture and horticulture universities from the open market.
This will reduce the production and productivity of apples in the future, which will further deepen the crisis of horticulture. The state’s economy will be badly affected by the wastage of apples.
Apart from this, the Kisan Sabha has also protested the steep rise in the prices of fertilisers. The Sabha alleged that a 25 kilogram bag of calcium nitrate, which was available last year for Rs 1,100-1,250, is now available for Rs 1,300-1,750.
A 50 kilogram bag of potash, which was available for Rs 1,150 last year, is now priced at Rs 1,750. NPK 12:32:16, which was priced at Rs 1,200 last year, is now priced at Rs 1,750.
Despite this, neither potash nor NPK 12:32:16 are available.
Some 42,884 tonnes of urea was sold last year according to HIMFED. This year, only 29,052 tonnes has been sold.
Prashant Sehata, a farmer from Shimla, said fertilisres, especially potash, was not available even though it was needed. This had increased concerns of farmers.
Om Prakash Sharma, a farmer from Chamba said there has been good snowfall this year and apple plants’ need for a ‘chilling hour’ had been fulfilled. “The crop is likely to be good this year. But the lack of fertilisers has made us afraid of losses,” he said.
Ganesh Dutt, chairman of HIMFED said fertiliser manufacturing companies were facing problems in making fertilisers due to non-availability of raw materials from abroad. This was why Himachal was facing a shortage of fertilisers.
“Efforts have been made to increase the supply of fertilisers in the state by talking to the Centre,” Dutt said.
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