Conference held on management of apples

Apples form an important component of the economies of the hill states such as HP, J&K, Uttarakhand with 70 per cent of the population being dependent on apples," CN Dhar, Chairman CII Himachal Pradesh State Council said at a conference on Enabling International Standards for Post Harvest Management of Apples organised as part of the CII AgroTech.

He said the Himachal government's Rs 85 crore 'Apple replantation project' to replace old and low yielding varieties with more productive and high quality varieties of apple root stocks, is an important initiative for the state apples growers. Neelkant Bakshi , Managing Director, Packolabel Systems Pvt Ltd said NABARD is doing a study for the government of Jammu and Kashmir on the role of Public Private Participation (PPP) for setting up model pack houses.

"In the absence of post harvesting favcilities apple growers face a host of problems. In fact, the recent bumper crop has demonstrated severe limitations of post harvesting managements. If the farmers do not perceive gains in the face of bumper crop, it would hamper their efforts in the increasing of their productivity," he added.

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