Plucking apples in Kullu, Himachal Pradesh - Visit to our apple orchard - Harvesting Season - Royal
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Today, we take you to a visit to our apple orchard in Kullu Valley, Situated near Sarsai, Dashal, Bharhka.
The entire district Kullu is known as the apple orchard of Himachal Pradesh- a tiny hill state of India. It was the British who introduced apples in the Kullu valley. They found that the height of Kullu ranged from 4000 to 75000 feet, which was ideal for the plantation of apples.
Apples
First of all Captain R.C. Lee took the initiative of apple farming in 1860. He purchased a patch of 33 acres of land in Bandrol and asked his father to send the saplings of apple, plum, pear, and cherry from England. He planted eight species of apples in Kullu viz. Waldvin, Stayfad, Pippin, Wine apple, Uthalo, Newton, Green Smith, and Winter. In pears the varieties were William Favorite, Wartlet, Easter Wayvwer, Danny Dew Comis, etc. , R.C. Lee died in 1912.
Apple harvesting season in Himachal kicks off in mid-July and continues till November, depending upon the apple variety and location of apple orchards.
With apple season in Kullu district picking up pace, workers from Nepal are the most trusted for executing works in orchards, including harvesting, carriage, packaging and loading of boxes.
Every year nepalese people come in large numbers to Kullu (entire Himachal state rather) during the apple harvest season to earn money.
However, it wasn’t until Samuel Stokes, an American missionary, entered the scene that apple cultivation gained momentum. Settling in Kotgarh, Stokes brought several apple saplings from America,
experimenting with various strains until he settled on the Red and Golden Delicious varieties. His efforts culminated in the first apple sales from his orchard in 1926.
In Kullu, around 24,000 hectares was covered under apple cultivation, which is the sole source of livelihood for area residents
Today, we take you to a visit to our apple orchard in Kullu Valley, Situated near Sarsai, Dashal, Bharhka.
The entire district Kullu is known as the apple orchard of Himachal Pradesh- a tiny hill state of India. It was the British who introduced apples in the Kullu valley. They found that the height of Kullu ranged from 4000 to 75000 feet, which was ideal for the plantation of apples.
Apples
First of all Captain R.C. Lee took the initiative of apple farming in 1860. He purchased a patch of 33 acres of land in Bandrol and asked his father to send the saplings of apple, plum, pear, and cherry from England. He planted eight species of apples in Kullu viz. Waldvin, Stayfad, Pippin, Wine apple, Uthalo, Newton, Green Smith, and Winter. In pears the varieties were William Favorite, Wartlet, Easter Wayvwer, Danny Dew Comis, etc. , R.C. Lee died in 1912.
Apple harvesting season in Himachal kicks off in mid-July and continues till November, depending upon the apple variety and location of apple orchards.
With apple season in Kullu district picking up pace, workers from Nepal are the most trusted for executing works in orchards, including harvesting, carriage, packaging and loading of boxes.
Every year nepalese people come in large numbers to Kullu (entire Himachal state rather) during the apple harvest season to earn money.
However, it wasn’t until Samuel Stokes, an American missionary, entered the scene that apple cultivation gained momentum. Settling in Kotgarh, Stokes brought several apple saplings from America,
experimenting with various strains until he settled on the Red and Golden Delicious varieties. His efforts culminated in the first apple sales from his orchard in 1926.
In Kullu, around 24,000 hectares was covered under apple cultivation, which is the sole source of livelihood for area residents
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TravelTranscript
00:00An apple a day keeps the doctor away.
00:06Yes, eat an apple and stay healthy.
00:11Welcome to our channel Countryside Travels.
00:15Today we will take you on a tour of our apple orchard.
00:20In today's video, we will tell you some history related to apple farming and apple farming in Himachal.
00:29Before proceeding, please subscribe to this channel.
00:33So let's go ahead in this video.
00:49In our mountains, it is said that both son and grandson ask for love and care.
00:54And the same is true with the apple tree.
00:59Apple fruit is pest and weather sensitive.
01:05And it needs a lot of care.
01:08It has a spray of 13 to 15 pesticides and insecticides.
01:12And every year about 700 to 1200 chilling hours are required.
01:16That is, this crop is produced in a cold climate.
01:20Chilling hours means the number of hours in a year when the temperature should be below 7 degrees but above the freezing point.
01:29But now, after progress in science, there are some varieties that need less chilling hours.
01:36Like Anna, a variety of golden delicious apple, which needs about 300 to 400 chilling hours.
01:45When we are making this video, it is the month of September and the fruit season is at its peak.
01:51And the apple is being plucked.
01:54And then it is taken to the grading houses.
01:59Grades are made there.
02:01Size, color and quality firmness decides the grades.
02:05There are sizes like extra large, large, medium, small and big grade.
02:14This is a black apple.
02:17There are some red dots in the middle.
02:20Let's try and see how it is.
02:24I will have to wash it first.
02:29So this is the packing going on here.
02:31Grades are made here.
02:32This big size is large.
02:34This is medium.
02:36And this is small.
02:38The apple crop is labor intensive.
02:40It takes a lot of labor and effort throughout the year.
02:46And when the year starts, when the trees are in dormancy,
02:52the trees need pruning.
02:54Then the pits are made, which in our language is called Daur.
02:59And then organic matter, fertilizers are given to the roots.
03:05Nutrients are given to the roots.
03:08And all this happens around December and January, February.
03:14And then as soon as March comes, the plant propagation is done.
03:19Which we also call Lagana in Kalmi.
03:23This is the period when the plant, the tree,
03:28is about to come into the active stage of dormancy.
03:33Because at the start of the video, as I told you,
03:36the apple is a very sensitive crop.
03:38And it needs to be sprayed with insecticide and pesticide spray.
03:45And if there is any mistime,
03:48then ultimately the quality of the fruit,
03:50the diseases, can save this tree.
03:55And we also have to rely to a great extent on external factors,
03:59such as rain and how much sunlight there will be.
04:02So that also decides the quality of the apple.
04:05This is the quality code.
04:36So there are a lot of new varieties of apples,
04:39which are in production for almost a year now.
04:42And the apple season starts in July,
04:45and continues till October.
05:06And when the grades are ready,
05:09you can see the crates in front of you.
05:12They are filled in these crates,
05:14and they are sent to the vegetable market.
05:18And there are some apple orchards,
05:20who send it directly to the various markets of the country.
05:25So the choice is very good.
05:28They send it directly to the various markets of the country.
05:33So the choice totally depends on the prevailing price.
05:39If they get a good price, then they sell it here.
05:41Otherwise, they send it to other places by transport.
05:46This is a famous vegetable market here,
05:48Banrol vegetable market.
05:50And here in the morning,
05:51at 6 in the morning,
05:52at 5 or 6 o'clock,
05:53people start selling apples.
05:57And see how crowded it is right now.
06:01There are so many apple crates here.
06:26There is a question that I would like to ask all the viewers.
06:38The farmer who has an apple orchard,
06:42what is the price of apples in the range of Rs. 50 to Rs. 150 to Rs. 200?
06:53And what is the value of apples in your area?
06:56Write in the comment section.
06:59And tell me,
07:01do you think the farmer gets the right price for this fruit?
07:06And as I said at the beginning of the video,
07:09it is a very sensitive crop.
07:11And a lot of fertilizers, pesticides and insecticides have to be sprayed to save it.
07:17And it is a very cost-intensive crop.
07:21And we would like to know your reaction to this.
07:25Do write in the comment section.
07:29This is the winter green variety of apple.
07:35In winters, when the apple tree is dormant,
07:38the stem of the apple is pruned.
07:40Pruning ensures adequate amount of sunlight,
07:43exposure to fruit, leaf and stem.
07:51The apple tree is now in full bloom.
08:02Right now, the plucking is going on.
08:07And we pluck the apples that are in full bloom.
08:11And if the small size apple is in full bloom,
08:16then we pluck it as well.
08:18Because there are chances that it will not grow bigger than this.
08:22And after this, we take it to our packing house.
08:26And here we prepare the grade.
08:47This is a black apple.
08:50There are some red dots in the middle.
08:53Let's try and see how it is.
08:57First, we have to wash it.
08:59And this year, we are seeing a very interesting thing.
09:02The demand for apples is very high.
09:04And the buyers from far and wide,
09:07from all corners of India,
09:09are directly reaching the orchard.
09:12And if the price is fair and competitive,
09:16then we sell these apples here as well.
09:19Or they purchase it from the tree itself.
09:22They purchase the apples from the tree.
09:25Or the pile that we have planted here,
09:28in our packing house,
09:30they decide the price based on the color and size
09:33and purchase it here.
09:35So, the apple orchards here,
09:39whatever they feel is right,
09:42whatever they get at a good price,
09:44they sell it accordingly.
09:47Or there is a local vegetable market,
09:49where they are transported.
09:52And daily, they are sold there in the morning.
09:55And based on the market conditions,
09:57they are sold.
09:59The quality of the apple,
10:01there are all the parameters
10:03that it has to meet.
10:05Like color, size, shape, firmness,
10:08crispness, acidity, soluble solids,
10:11which decide the quality of the apple.
10:13And the apple meets all these parameters
10:16when it gets optimal weather conditions.
10:19The apple tree needs sunlight, rainfall,
10:22moisture, fertilizers and nutrients
10:25at the right time, at the right place.
10:29The British started the apple farming in Kullu.
10:32In 1860, for the first time,
10:34Captain R.C. Lee initiated the apple farming here.
10:37He purchased 33 acres of land in Kullu's Bandol village.
10:41And he requested his father
10:43to send plum, pear, apple and cherry saplings here.
10:48These saplings were imported from England.
10:51He planted 8 apple varieties here.
10:54And then more and more Britishers came here,
10:57and they also purchased land here
10:59and did apple farming.
11:01There is a very interesting thing
11:03related to apples.
11:05It is said that the first Central Asian region
11:08to get an apple was Kazakhstan.
11:10And after that, it spread all over the world.
11:35So friends, now it is time to leave.
11:38I hope you liked this video very much.
11:41See you in the next video.
11:44Take care.
12:06Subscribe to our channel.
12:09Keep watching Countryside Travels.