Chandigarh, February 6
Once considered an advice for a healthy life, the maxim “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” seems to be of little significance for the common man nowadays. For, the fruit has been selling at a high of Rs 100-110 a kg this winter, as compared to Rs 70-80 a kg during the corresponding period last year.

Such high price of the Kinnaur apple has forced most households to do away with the fruit from their menu. The steep hike in the fruit price could be attributed to the fall in apple production last year, the produce being about 80 per cent less that that in 2008.

Another factor that is pushing the price up is the fear of another failed crop in 2010 (the crop starts arriving by June), as drought-like conditions have been prevailing in the apple-growing belts of Himachal Pradesh this winter as well.

Officials in Himachal Pradesh horticulture department point out that after the crop harvest, apple trees shed their leaves and remain dormant till the spring season. And during this period, chilling of inside of the soil is required (through snowfall), also called as the phase of replenishment that is vital for the next crop. But this year, they said, the temperature had remained quite high, thus hitting the chilling process.