Fruit growers in India’s Himachal Pradesh are increasingly turning to commercial kiwifruit production and away from traditional apple cultivation in bid to diversify their crops and boost returns, reports The Hindu.

Some 120ha in the region are now planted to kiwifruit, which last year yielded around 137 tonnes, the article said. Varieties grown include Hayward, Abbot, Allison and Bruno.

'The mid-hills and valleys of Solan, Shimla, Sirmaur, Mandi and Kullu districts are ideally suited for kiwi cultivation. It's ideal for crop diversification and has a market among high-end consumers,' Sudhir Katiha, assistant project officer of the state horticulture department, is quoted as saying.

Climate change has severely affected apple production in some areas of Himachal Pradesh – driving growers to look for alternative crops, he explained.

'In certain pockets of Kullu, Mandi and Shimla districts, the production of apple has declined due to climatic changes. Apple orchards require 1,000 to 1,600 hours of chill, while kiwi requires just 200 hours of chill for a favourable crop. Farmers in the areas where the chilling hours are not static now have opted for kiwi cultivation as a cash crop,' he said.

Pomegranates, cherries and strawberries are other crops being trialled by progressive farmers in the state as an alternative to apple production.

Besides apples – still the state's main fruit crop – Himachal Pradesh produces pears, peaches, cherries, apricots, almonds and plums.

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