Magic Apples of India
15.10.2021 | Apples
A farmer in Himachal Pradesh has developed an innovative self-pollinating apple variety that does not require long-term refrigeration. Apples are now grown in the plains, tropical and subtropical regions in various parts of India, where summer temperatures reach 40-45 ºC.
Sri Hariman Sharma, a progressive farmer hailing from Paniala village in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, who has developed this innovative apple variety, HRMN 99, has inspired not only thousands of farmers in the region but also gardeners in Bilaspur and other lowland areas of the state - areas that previously could not dream of growing apples.
But now, thanks to the ingenuity of a small Indian farmer named Hariman Sharma, they are growing the fruit, and very successfully.
A farmer in Himachal Pradesh has developed an innovative self-pollinating apple variety that does not require long-term refrigeration. Apples are now grown in the plains, tropical and subtropical regions in various parts of India, where summer temperatures reach 40-45 ºC.
Sri Hariman Sharma, a progressive farmer hailing from Paniala village in Bilaspur district, Himachal Pradesh, who has developed this innovative apple variety, HRMN 99, has inspired not only thousands of farmers in the region but also gardeners in Bilaspur and other lowland areas of the state - areas that previously could not dream of growing apples.
But now, thanks to the ingenuity of a small Indian farmer named Hariman Sharma, they are growing the fruit, and very successfully.
Farmers in the village of Shingkap in the northeastern state of Manipur, unable to support their families by growing rice and vegetables, are becoming actively interested in apples. For example, one of these farmers began looking for ways to increase his income and met a research coordinator from NIF who told him about HRMN-99. Together, they convinced 40 farmers from the village to join together to grow a "special apple." In 2019, 4,200 seedlings were purchased and planted. Already at the end of the first year, several trees bore fruit.
This large-scale cultivation of HRMN-99 has prompted several farms across the country, from the dusty plains of the northern state of Rajasthan to the hot plateau of Telangana in southern India, to take up apple cultivation.
The success story of this apple variety opens new horizons for research into other temperate fruit crops to mitigate the disadvantages of global warming.