{"id":49927,"date":"2025-06-12T21:02:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T01:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/indian-scientists-search-for-the-perfect-apple\/12\/06\/2025\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T21:02:27","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T01:02:27","slug":"indian-scientists-search-for-the-perfect-apple","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newssprinters.com\/index.php\/world\/indian-scientists-search-for-the-perfect-apple\/12\/06\/2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Indian scientists search for the perfect apple"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“My neighbours thought I’d lost my mind,” says farmer Kakasaheb Sawant.<\/p>\n
In 2022 he had decided to plant some apple trees, not crazy for a farmer unless, like Mr Sawant, you live in subtropical southern India, where temperatures can hit 43C.<\/p>\n
He bought 100 saplings, of which 80 survived. Last year each tree produced between 30 and 40 kilogrammes of fruit.<\/p>\n
“My farm has become something of a local miracle. People travel from far-off places just to see the apple trees growing under the hot Maharashtra sun.”<\/p>\n
It’s not been an unqualified success though. One problem is that the apples are not sweet enough to sell.<\/p>\n
Mr Sawant remains enthusiastic. He’s had some success selling apple tree saplings and is optimistic about future harvests.<\/p>\n
“This is the beginning. The trees are getting acclimatised so according to me in next four to five years these trees will start bearing good, sweet apples.”<\/p>\n
In his own small way, Mr Sawant is hoping to meet India’s rising demand for apples.<\/p>\n
Production has risen 15% over the last five years to 2.5 million tonnes.<\/p>\n
But that is not keeping up with demand and India’s imports have roughly doubled to 600,000 tonnes over the same period, according to S Chandrashekhar, who analyses India’s apple trade.<\/p>\n
“We do have a shortage of apple production,” he says. “There are not many new players… at the same time, and there is no new investment.”<\/p>\n
Essential for a good apple crop is a lengthy period of winter temperature between 0C and 6C.<\/p>\n
Countries like the UK, with around 1,000 hours of this chill-time, can produce almost any apple variety.<\/p>\n
But in India areas with those conditions are more limited.<\/p>\n
Most of India’s apples come from two regions in the north of the country -Jammu and Kashmir and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.<\/p>\n
Mr Chandrashekhar says that many farms in those regions are becoming less productive.<\/p>\n
“There are lot of old orchards producing fewer apples – that means the yield is coming down,” he says.<\/p>\n
He says that climate change is making conditions less favourable.<\/p>\n\n