With the farmers complaining their apple trees are getting affected because of the use of fake pesticides, growers demand strict action against those selling the sub-standard products.
Speaking to the news agency—Kashmir News Observer (KNO), President Fruit Mandi Sopore, Fayaz Ahmed Malik said that sub-standard fertilizers and spurious pesticides are a constant threat to horticulture.
He said the Horticulture Department is not acting against those selling the fake products.
He said spurious pesticides and fertilizers are hitting the crop and hence affecting farmers livelihood.
He said that the Kashmiri apple is the bestseller in the country. “We have the highest production. The growers can ensure round-the-year supply all over India with the best quality apples if they get the right time support from the government,” he added.
The government should book all those people who deceive farmers by giving them fake pesticides and fertilizers with the stringent act - Public Safety Act (PSA) like those of drug peddlers. The government must not leave them, Malik added.
Shabir Ahmed, a farmer at Bohripora, Sopore told KNO that the pesticides available in the market don't serve any purpose. “We have to spray repeatedly in large amounts to get some results though not satisfactorily, which only tends to result in loss of money and resources.”
"I fail to understand why the government is not taking some concrete steps to stop this menace. The action should be taken against the government employees, dealers who have also been misleading us. It's high time for the enforcement teams to act," he added.
Authorities claim that they are following all Standard Operating Procedures and educating growers regarding the schedule and bad effects of indiscriminate use of pesticides from time to time—(KNO)
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AGRICULTURE