Srinagar: Relishing home grown Kiwi fruit is no longer a dream for Kashmiri people now as a farmer in Apple township of Sopore in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district has grown his own Kiwi orchard and is expecting the first bumper crop of the season this year.
Sixty three-year-old Bashir Ahmad War a Law graduate from the Aligarh Muslim University belongs to a farmers family which has grown Kiwi on five kanals of land in his garden at Warpora, 6 kms from Sopore and is expecting a bumper 25 to 30 tons of production this year after looking after the orchard for three years.
“I did not know anything about Kiwi first and I came to learn that it is being grown in New Zealand and they have given the name of this fruit after their national bird “Kiwi”. As my interest developed I searched the internet and went through all the details about Kiwi farming”, Bashir told UNI.
Bashir said ; “during my Dubai visit I saw Kiwi in the markets being sold like hot cakes there and I thought why can’t I grow it in my own orchard”.
He said after consultation with the Agriculture and Horticulture experts finally he decided to go for the Kiwi plantation in my orchard.
Bashir said he brought Kiwi Plants from Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir Agriculture University and Horticulture department and developed them after learning every bit and knowing all about the Kiwi farming.
“I did made “Bawar system” (a type of roof made of iron) on five Kanals of land in my orchard on which the stems of plants rest which cost me about 1.50 lakh expenditure”, he said.
He said in the first year the crop was very less and I continued to look after it and in the second year there was no fruit but in the third year the fruit yielded a bumper crop.
He said “I have seen on the internet that Kiwi is being produced in China, Holland and New Zealand. China presently is growing a new variety of red color kiwi. I have heard that in Holland the flush of kiwi is blue”.
Bashir had already contacted the orchardists in New Zealand and Holland through an international plant supplier to provide these kiwi plants which are producing colored flush inside.
He said the flush of my kiwi is green and it is natural and without any pesticides or fungicides is totally an organic fruit. He said at present there is a great demand for organic fruits all around the world and I want to grow it in a big way.
He also urged the growers who will adopt Kiwi farming to grow it only in organic way.
“I want to expand Kiwi orchard to 30 kanals of land in the near future with new varieties. This year I am expecting 25-30 tones of Kiwi production from my 5 kanal garden”, he added.
Bashir did not opt for any job nor did he do the law practice anywhere after completing his studies and remained associated with his forefathers business of farming.
“I am from an agriculture family and heretical is my Horticulture”, he said.
In a question he said “I got inspiration from myself to start Kiwi growing against Apple as Apple consuming too much investment, growers use pesticides, fungicides and other chemicals besides Vat has been charged now”.
He said the Apple trees blossom in the month of March which remains a rainy season for the horticulture farmers. And whenever there is rain the blossomed petals fall quickly causing concerns among the orchardists.
He said “in my opinion Kiwi growing is better than Apple”. He claimed that in India Kiwi can be grown only in Himachal Pradesh and Kashmir.
Bashir said the harvesting of the kiwi fruit would be in the first week of November and this year it is expected much earlier due to good weather conditions.
He said there are apple orchards on about 3.50 lakh hectares of land in Kashmir valley. The farmers should go for the Kiwi growing side by side in the particular areas of their orchards to increase income.
He said Kashmir can become an exporter of this fruit in future as it has a good marketing potential.
Answering the question whether he would like to export the Kiwi, Bashir said the production of Kiwi in his orchard would be consumed only in Kashmir and alone in his Sopore township as far as the demand of this fruit is concerned.
He said the farmers are not yet aware about the market of the Kiwi. He said Kiwi is being sold at Rs 25 to Rs 30 per piece in the market.
He claimed that his Kiwi orchard is the only private Kiwi orchard in the whole Kashmir valley.
