Applied Copper Oxychloride spray — dormant season
Used 300gm per 200L water. Applied early morning at 7am before bud break. Coverage looks good on all 250 trees. Weather was clear, no wind.
Gala apple early harvest — great market response
Picked 30 boxes of Gala. Early season advantage — selling at Rs 110/kg directly to buyer. Better than mandi rate. Trees on M9 rootstock producing well in 3rd year.
Beautiful sunset view from the orchard at 7800ft
End of a long day in the orchard. The view from our Kinnaur orchard never gets old. Apple trees against snow-capped mountains. This is why we farm.
Neem oil organic spray for aphids
Found woolly aphids on lower branches. Applied Neem oil 5ml/L with soap solution. Will repeat in 10 days. Organic method working well this year.
First pick of Royal Delicious — Grade A!
Harvested 50 boxes from the upper block. Starch test showed perfect maturity. Color is excellent this year. Price at Shimla mandi: Rs 95/kg for A grade.
Apple scab prevention - what works at high altitude?
Every year we lose significant yield to apple scab above 7500ft. The usual spray schedule doesn't seem enough. What additional measures have worked for fellow farmers at these alti...
Mancozeb fungicide spray at green tip stage
Applied Mancozeb 75WP at 2.5g/L for scab prevention. Sprayed both Royal Delicious and Red Delicious blocks. Took 3 hours for the full orchard.
Foliar spray with calcium + boron
Applied CaCl2 0.5% + Borax 0.1% foliar spray. Important for fruit quality and to prevent bitter pit. Trees are at fruit set stage.
Red Delicious harvest in progress — Day 3
Total 120 boxes harvested so far. Sending to Azadpur mandi via truck. Transport arranged at Rs 850/box. Expecting 20% premium over Shimla rates.
Spotted early signs of Marssonina blotch
Found small brown spots on lower leaves of 5 trees in the wet corner. Taking photos for disease ID. Will spray immediately if confirmed. Heavy dew last week likely cause.
Captan 50WP spray after petal fall
Post-bloom fungicide application. Captan at 2g/L. Very important spray for preventing summer diseases. All 180 trees covered.
Summer thinning of fruit clusters
Thinned fruit to 1-2 per cluster on Royal Delicious. This will improve fruit size and color. Hard work but worth it for grade A quality.
Released ladybugs for aphid control
Bought 500 ladybugs from the horticulture department. Released near aphid-infested trees. Natural biocontrol — no chemicals needed. Children love watching them!
Carbendazim + Mancozeb combo spray for scab
Pink bud stage spray done. Mixed Carbendazim 50WP (1g/L) with Mancozeb (2.5g/L). Good weather window — no rain expected for 48 hours.
Started drip irrigation for summer
Turned on drip system after 2 weeks without rain. Running 2 hours per day. Soil moisture at root zone was getting low. New drip lines on young trees working well.