September 24: Jum Bahadur Budhathoki Magar, 73, from Nisikhola Rural Municipality-5 of Baglung district has an apple orchard with 200 trees of both local and Italian species.    

He sold 15 quintals of apple last year, but the production slumped this year. The apple production declined sharply because of hailstones that occurred in March and April. Now, the orchard wears a dreary look.    
Magar has been involved in traditional apple farming since 2048 BS. He has the farm in 15 ropanies of land at Masgaon.

"I was expecting to sell 20 to 25 quintals of apple this year, but in vain," he said, adding that the hailstones damaged it in the beginning of the flowering season.    
Even the farmers at Niseldhor area are worried over the meagre product. With this, some of them have shifted to potato farming.    

Magar had planted 200 saplings of Italian species of apple. He explained, "After I became Chairman of Dhorpatan Apple Bloc, we began collective apple farming. I'm leading the apple farmers of Neseldhoka as well. The Italian species of apple gave good harvest last year, but the hailstone damaged it during the flowering season this year."    

Earlier, Dhorpatan valley, Sentung, Shyalpakhe, Niseldhor and Mas were doing traditional farming, but in minimum scale.    
Farmer from Dhorpatan-9, Ram Bahadur Gharti, informed that he also had good harvest from 181 trees of apple last year. But, the production declined this time. -- RSS