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Almond cultivation in Kashmir - Makhdoom and Shalimar varieties Photo: Yercaud-elango · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source ↗

Almond cultivation (Makhdoom, Shalimar - Kashmir)

Almond (Prunus dulcis) is the leading nut crop of Jammu & Kashmir. Kashmir contributes over 90% of India's almond production, concentrated in Pulwama, Budgam, Srinagar, Kupwara and Anantnag districts. Two SKUAST-Kashmir releases — Shalimar and Makhdoom — are the leading improved varieties, joined by older cultivars Waris and Pranyaj and traditional types such as Kaghzi (paper-shell), Mamra (high-fat heart-shaped) and IXL.

Key characteristics

Variety Released Type Yield (kg/tree, mature) Notes
Shalimar SKUAST-K Improved soft-shell 8-10 Mid-late flowering; frost-escape advantage
Makhdoom SKUAST-K Improved soft-shell 7-9 Self-fertile leaning; consistent bearing
Waris SKUAST-K Soft-shell 6-8 Earlier release
Kaghzi Traditional Paper-shell 4-6 Easy to crack but pest-prone
Mamra Traditional Hard-shell 3-5 Premium market for confectionery

Cultivation

  • Climate: 1,200-2,200 m elevation; chilling requirement ~300-500 hours below 7.2 °C; tolerates -15 °C dormancy cold; spring frost during bloom (February-March) is the principal weather risk.
  • Soil: deep, well-drained sandy loam; pH 6.5-7.5; intolerant of waterlogging.
  • Propagation: budded onto bitter-almond or peach seedling rootstock; Indian almonds are rarely planted on clonal rootstock.
  • Spacing: 6 x 6 m to 8 x 8 m on seedling rootstock; closer 5 x 5 m on semi-dwarfing rootstock trials.
  • Pollination: almond is self-incompatible (except a few partly self-fertile selections); minimum two cultivars are interplanted at 1:1 or 1:2 ratio. Honey-bee colonies are placed in orchards at the rate of 4-6 hives/ha during bloom; bumble bees outperform honey bees in cool / cloudy spring weather (apple bee pollination).
  • Frost protection: smudge pots, wind machines or overhead sprinklers at bloom; Shalimar's later bloom is its principal climate advantage over Waris and Kaghzi.
  • Nutrition: 200-400 g N + 100-200 g P + 200-400 g K per tree per year, increasing with age; calcium and boron critical for shell quality.

Pests and diseases

  • Diseases: leaf curl (Taphrina deformans) early spring; shot-hole (Wilsonomyces carpophilus); root rot (Armillaria) on wet sites.
  • Pests: aphids, almond stone weevil, San Jose scale, bark borer.
  • Frost is the single biggest yield-determining factor in Kashmir almond — losses of 30-70% are recorded in late-frost years (e.g. 2014, 2019).

Bordeaux mixture 1% at swollen-bud and again at petal-fall controls leaf curl and shot-hole. Captan + chlorpyrifos cover sprays manage shot-hole + scale together.

Adoption and use

Indian almond area is around 16,000-17,000 ha producing ~12,000-14,000 t kernels annually. Kashmir almonds, particularly Mamra, fetch premium prices in domestic and Gulf markets (₹1,000-2,500/kg kernel). However, almond area in Kashmir has declined steadily since the 1990s as growers convert orchards to apple — almond's lower per-hectare income and frost risk are the main drivers. SKUAST-Kashmir's Shalimar/Makhdoom programme aims to reverse this decline through frost-escape varieties and improved package of practices.

See also: Royal Delicious apple, apple bee pollination, apple rootstocks.

Sources

  1. Almond. ICAR-CITH Srinagar.
  2. Almond varieties. SKUAST-Kashmir.
  3. Almond cultivation in India. National Horticulture Board.