The cherry harvest under Kashmir’s idyllic landscape brings about enthusiasm coupled with signs of a healthy Valley with a rich history of horticultural innovation.
Despite difficult conditions caused by erratic weather and fluctuations between bud break, growers now experience a revival of hope from the addition of new varieties (from Italy and Bulgaria among others) as they enter into a period of rapid growth.
The sales of high quality, premium imported cherries continues to price in wholesales and retails at record levels, and many growers anticipate even higher prices for their products as the region approaches peak production levels.
The combination of providing growers with an incentive to take risks through high wholesale prices, and appealing to the growing consumer demand for cherries, will allow growers to replace production lost as a result of inclement weather.
There are many reasons that this year’s cherry crop is so exciting, and additional advantages can be created for this segment of the agricultural industry by utilizing new cherry varietals.
The newer hybrid strains of cherry trees are much more resistant to damage due to extreme weather than older varieties, which have no longer been able to produce with even the slightest amount of rain, or previous generations of trees will be more flexible to temperature fluctuations.
Additionally, new modern hybrids will mature at different times creating smaller quantities of cherries available at any given time and minimizing the amount of pressure placed on growers to sell their crops at an exceptionally low price due to a general overabundance of cherries. The two-month harvest period enables growers to expand their wait for optimum sales prices.
Kashmir has adjusted well to the changing nature of world agricultural standards, and this is evidenced by the growth of the region with respect to its export markets
In addition to providing local mandis and homes with sweet cherries: the sales of these types of cherries provide farmers from the region with an example of their unwavering spirit in the face of adversity.
The future of the colourful horticulture industry in the Valley remains bright if current levels of orcharding and harvesting continue to increase at the rate they have in the past year.
