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Cochin Banerjee grows green apples in Chakpechiya village. (News 18)
Kaushik Banerjee, a BDO in Arambagh cultivates green apples in Chakbeshia village in Hooghly and uses one square of land for this purpose
It is a known fact that apples grow in the cold plains of Kashmir, Himachal and other hill stations, but Kaushik Banerjee in West Bengal beat the odds by growing premium quality apples in the hot climate of Arambagh.
Banerjee, a BDO in Arambagh, grows green apples in Chakbeshia village in Hooghly and uses one square of land for this.
Banerjee planted 152 seedlings at the site about a year ago, of which about 130 trees survived and started growing apples.
Local panchayat chief Shah Mohammad Rafeeq said the initiative will motivate others to grow apples which will help farmers in the area to make huge profits.
On the other hand, apple cultivation is also going on in Bankura though there are coarse red soils which are thought to be quite unsuitable for apple cultivation and harsh climatic conditions made it more difficult. However, with the help of proper study and technology, it is now being done.
In particular, the experimental cultivation of apple varieties Anna, Dossart Golden and HRMN-99 is being conducted in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Agriculture System Research at Parashmani Development and Research Foundation located in Damodarpur in Bankura district.
About 80 apple trees are planted in Parachmani. This cultivation lasted for about three years. A minimum of five years of experience is required to do so.
“Over the past three years, almost every tree has flowered and fruited. Research is also underway on how much water is required to grow apples or what minerals are required in the soil. I will speak from the experience of the last three years and a few years before that. If apples can be grown on red laterite soil, “It will be an agricultural revolution. I am very optimistic. It will take more time to commercialize it,” said Siddharth Sen, owner of the Research and Development Corporation.
Sanjay Sengupta, Field Officer of the District Department of Horticulture, said, “The red soil of Bankura and the climate of Bankura are just as suitable for growing green Anna apples as Israel. The only hurdle, in this case, is the temperature at the time of fruiting. The lowest temperature required to produce Anna apples or apples Green is 8 degrees. We rarely get that temperature in the Bankura region. Once harvested, this apple can withstand temperatures of around 42 degrees Celsius.”
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