Dry spell brings sweet surprise for farmers as Valley records boost in stone fruit production

{ SUMMER NECTAR

- Ashiq Hussain

Even though unusually hot and dry weather in spring and summer seasons affected life across Kashmir this year, it has proved a blessing for stone fruit farmers in the Himalayan region.

The valley has recorded a bumper harvest of stone fruits, including plum, apricot, cherry and peach owing to hot and dry weather conditions in comparison to last year.

While the apricot and cherry harvest was almost on its tail end, the plum harvest is still going on. “The production of plum was more this year as the weather conditions remained good for stone fruits. The plum is also of better quality this year than last,” said Mohammad Ashraf, a plum farmer from the outskirts of Srinagar city.