Most of Summer/Rainy Season Guava fruit crop in Jammu Region remains worm infested & problem is there since decades

• In this era of advanced technologies why have not the Horticulture Experts & SKAUST Scientist been able to make Guava free from ‘worms’?
• Government needs to sanction a special project for study & control of the ‘cause’ like ‘fruit fly’ that is said to be ‘culprit’ of Guava

DAYA SAGAR
The damage being done to the Guava fruit orchard during the summer/ rainy season in Jammu Region where most of the crop that may outwardly appear healthy is found spoiled by worms is a well accepted fact and in a way people appear to have taken that as a rule of nature. The growth of orchards in Jammu region is already very poor but as regards Guava which are more discouraged due to loss of one season of crop. The problem is known to even a kid but the way no progress for control of the disease / worms has been there for years can make one to think that the experts / researchers in the field of horticulture have remained very less occupied with the problem where almost all crop of one season is lost. The issue has been brought to the notice of the concerned at times and recently in July Aug 2024 but unfortunately no any indications about taking on the issue heavily could be sensed.
Directorate of Horticulture Jammu ( Divn) mentions Guava (Amrood), Orange / Kinoo (citrus), Mango among the ‘fruit crops’ grown/ that can be grown in Districts of Jammu (sub tropical), Kathua (sub tropical, intermediate temperate), Samba (sub tropical, no mention of mango), Udhampur (sub tropical, intermediate temperate), Reasi (sub tropical, temperate), Ramban (sub tropical, intermediate temperate, no mention of mango), Poonch (sub tropical, intermediate temperate , no mention of mango ) and Rajouri (sub tropical, intermediate temperate).But in reference to these fruits it will not be wrong to mention here that bulk of these fruits consumed in Jammu Division ( particularly improved commercial varieties ) are imported from other states (even Punjab and also from Himachal Pradesh).
Guava is imported to J&K in very large quantities and during this July month it is being sold in retail atleast from Rs.70 to 120 per Kg. Not only that whatever indigenous varieties / others varieties of Guava are grown in Jammu Division it is a common acknowledged fact that the fruit that matures ( July/ August) is infected with worms (commonly named as Fruit Fly) at places even more than 75% fruit of rainy season crop is lost and common advice is that summer flowering of guava should be better shed off.
On the one hand the development of Horticulture in Jammu Division has been very poor ( could well be assessed from the quantities imported even of Guava / Mango/ Orange) and to add to that whatever plantation is there that too is not well protected from worms/ insects of which Guava fruit plantation is the worst victim even nearly after 7 decades of Independence and there being a separate Directorate of Horticulture for Jammu Division as well as a University of Agriculture & Technology (Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology Jammu – SKAUST).
Actual data for 2023- 2024 on production and export / import of fruits to / from Jammu Division could not be obtained therefore for idea sake , particularly for Guava , some data on area ( hectares) under Guava and production ( metric tons) for 2015 -16 (Area: 2463.84 Hect and Production :3275.50 Mt ) and 2016-17 ( Area :2478.99 Hect and Production : 3495 Mt ) as could be obtained from some earlier publications can be taken to get the likely status of Guava as Horticulture crop of Jammu Division of J&K. So that way production per hectare ( 20 Kanals) orchard could be around 1,3Mt (13 Quintal ) to 1.4 Mt (14 Quintal) or in other words just 65 kg to 70 Kg per Kanal ( data is subject to correction on availability .of actual data on date from departmental sources for which request has been made ). At one place Jammu Division Guava area and production for 2019 -20 has been mention as 2541 Hect and 8391 Mt i.e around 165 kg per kanal which show some increase over 2016-17 but is still very low. No doubt the data for 2022-23 could be even higher but going by the status of the quantity of rainy season crop available in the Jammu market from local production there may not be a status worth appreciation better than the one assessed here in.
To be brief there is utmost need for raising the priority level of approach towards development of commercial horticulture in Jammu Division for fruits like Guava and in the modern era of technologies the problem of the rainy season guava crop infestation should not have been so acute that almost whole rainy season crop is lost in most of the cases and some where some crop is sent to the market before it matures. People in J&K have not been that much motivated or encouraged over the years for taking to commercial fruit production like even in neighboring states and above that there has been under rated support / initiatives from the government agencies and less targeted approach from research departments of the Agriculture University like that for even disease/ insect control for cultivation of fruits like Guava otherwise may be even if 75% of rainy season Guava fruit would have been saved from worms some cultivators on their own might have taken for commercial guava farming. Let no one quote here pleading that may be Guava suffers similarly in some other state too, the subject matter is how to eradicate the decades old curse.
It is not out of place to referrer here that Agriculture Colleges in public sector / Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agriculture Sciences & Technologies is there since 1960s , they are often in news for issuing releases for the pioneering works done in the field of Agriculture / Horticulture but how have these institutions overlooked the damage done to the farm economy though the sufferings of Guava as discussed here for decades is not understandable.
Should not & SKAUST Jammu take on the issue on their own so that easy & direct ways and means are found out to save atleast 85 percent of the summer Guava crop without heavy cost and more farmers feel encouraged to go for such orchards since looking on the import of Guava fruit to J&K there exist lot of scope for commercial farming of Guava in Jammu region.
Hope next season ( 2026) Guava Horticulturists listen of some relieving story from Agri Sector / Horti sector
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(The writer is a Sr Journalist, analyst J&K affairs and Social Activist)