Visakhapatnam: The preliminary research on apple plantations in Vizag Agency of Eastern Ghats finally has yielded some positive results with two varieties -- Anna and Michael apple trees, bearing fruits at the Regional Agricultural Research Station (RARS), Chintapalle in Vizag Agency.
The officials of RARS say that some apple trees has yielded anywhere between 20 and 30 fruits and they have to examine the taste and other qualities of the fruits in the couple of weeks.
Apples normally grow in the Himalayan belt owing to the cool weather conditions. As Chintapalle and Lammasingi region have been witnessing cold temperatures, RARS, in association with Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), planted 60 apple saplings of three varieties -- Anna, Michael and Selection (20 saplings of each variety) shipped in from Himachal Pradesh (HP) in January, 2014 on RARS premises for studying the feasibility of growing the delicious apple fruit in Vizag region.
Speaking to DC, associate director of research, RARS, Chintapalle, G. Jogi Naidu said their research seems to be fruitful as some apple trees of Anna and Michael varieties have yielded fruits. “The colour and size of the fruits are attractive and we are yet to taste and see if it is a combination of sweet and sour. He said they were expecting that the taste of the fruit will become sweeter in the coming days as the harvesting season is in August,” he added.
“We have observed the formation of dormant buds and flower buds in March and we are expecting that some more trees will give apple fruits in August,” he added.
Sources said that if the research on apple cultivation is a success in Chintapalel, the authorities of RARS would supply apple saplings to potential farmers in Chintapalle, GK Veedhi, Arakuvalley and Ananthagiri mandals in Vizag Agency, where cultivation of coffee and pepper has been undertaken for the last few decades due to the cold weather conditions.
If the apple fruit project yields good results, Vizag Agency will be the only place in Andhra Pradesh to produce apples within five years.
Cultivation of apples will help the locals get extra income and help in improvement of living standards, they added. The government has plans to grow apple orchards and make money out of it.
