Srinagar, Apr 16 (KNO): Kashmir orchardists are spraying growth regulators worth crores despite not being recommended by SKAUST or the department of horticulture.
With the onset of spring, growers in several areas of Kashmir have started spraying growth regulators in their orchards with the claim it helps in better fruit set. But some still believe it is a waste of time.
Experts told news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO) said that there are over a dozen brands of growth regulators available in the market but none of them have been recommended either by the directorate of horticulture or by SKUAST (Sher-i-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology).
Mohammad Ashraf, a fruit grower from Shopian said that fruit sets maintained by growth regulators don't last long and all these fruits fall in June and July.
He termed it wastage of time and money and even if one year it helps in full fruit set but next year the produce remains very low.
“If regulators will be used continuously for a few years, time will come when trees won't give any fruit,” he said.
Javid Ahmad, another fruit grower said that he has been using growth regulators for the past few years now and with the help of growth regulators, the production has doubled.
Growers demand that the government must break silence and issue directions in this regard whether it is safe to use growth regulators or not.
They said that usually if growth regulators are being sprayed one year there remains good results while in the next year, the produce decreases.
Experts say that though fruit growers in Kashmir are using these growth regulators for the last 10 years, there is neither any recommendation to use them nor any research to know whether it should or should not be used by the growers.
A scientist from SKAUST Kashmir said that people spray these regulators despite not recommended by SKAUST or horticulture department.
SKUAST has recommended only boron spray at the pink bud stage, which is a micro nutrient, not a growth regulator, he said.
"There are some other micronutrients recommended at the pea bud stage of fruit and other stages but no such growth regulators or micro nutrients are recommended at full bloom stage,” he said.
He added that in some western countries where adverse weather occurs during flowering season, regulators are recommended as they help in artificially induced production of fruit—(KNO)