{"id":25540,"date":"2026-09-17T20:21:54","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T20:21:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=25540"},"modified":"2026-09-17T20:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T20:21:54","slug":"kashmir-cracks-walnut-success-code-turns-to-medium-sized-grafted-trees-india-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koshalsambada.in\/?p=25540","title":{"rendered":"Kashmir cracks walnut success code, turns to medium-sized, grafted trees | India News"},"content":{"rendered":"


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A street vendor sells walnuts on the occasion of the Sayar festival, in Mandi on Wednesday. (ANI Photo)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

KOKERNAG: In Gohan village, around 100km south of Srinagar, Shabir Ahmad was among many harvesting walnuts from a towering tree. The work has become increasingly difficult. \u201cMy back aches now,\u201d Ahmad said. J&K produces 3.5 lakh tonnes of walnuts annually, around 90% of the country\u2019s total output.Like other villagers, Ahmad had no safety gear and he was proud of it. \u201cWe have been doing it for centuries,\u201d said Ahmad, also a clerk at a local court. However, the bravado doesn\u2019t help in harvesting seasons. Dr. Mohd Yaqoob Bhat, a surgeon at Paras Hospital in Srinagar, said Valley healthcare units treat dozens of patients each year after falls from walnut trees, some with serious spinal injuries. \u201cThere is no mechanism to address the issue,\u201d Bhat said.Ahmad\u2019s younger brother sold one walnut for one rupee and no two fruits are similar. For generations, Kashmir\u2019s walnut trees have been grown from seeds. J&K and Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology (SKUAST) are now promoting medium-sized, grafted walnut trees to bring greater uniformity and help the produce compete globally amid competition from soft-shelled varieties grown in California and Chile.The initiative aims to replace scattered plantations with organised orchards of known varieties, allowing farmers to grow more trees in the same area and produce walnuts more consistent in size and color.J&K has about 80,000 hectares under walnut cultivation, most of it made up of seedling-origin trees. \u201cWhen someone plants a walnut seed in the ground, whatever grows becomes a tree. Every tree is a variety of its own,\u201d Ashfaq A. Pandit, professor and head of fruit science at SKUAST, said. This natural variation, once considered an advantage, has become a challenge in the modern market where buyers seek consistent produce.Traditional walnut trees can take about 15 years to bear fruit without using pesticides. Unlike traditional seedling-origin trees, grafted walnuts belong to known varieties.Imtiyaz Ahmad Lone, professor and head of SKUAST\u2019s Walnut Research Centre, said the university released new walnut cultivars and grafting-based cultivation had spread over nearly 90,000 hectares despite lack of subsidies.Farmers argued, however, that the grafted varieties are no match for the traditional Kashmiri walnut. \u201cIt is no match in taste. The new varieties are brittle, tasteless. They are a no-show,\u201d Mohammad Sultan, a Pulwama farmer in the business for 50 years, said.<\/p>\n

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