Indian scientists search for the perfect apple

“My neighbours thought I’d lost my mind,” says farmer Kakasaheb Sawant.

In 2022 he had decided to plant some apple trees, not crazy for a farmer unless, like Mr Sawant, you live in subtropical southern India, where temperatures can hit 43C.

He bought 100 saplings, of which 80 survived. Last year each tree produced between 30 and 40 kilogrammes of fruit.

“My farm has become something of a local miracle. People travel from far-off places just to see the apple trees growing under the hot Maharashtra sun.”

It’s not been an unqualified success though. One problem is that the apples are not sweet enough to sell.

Mr Sawant remains enthusiastic. He’s had some success selling apple tree saplings and is optimistic about future harvests.

“This is the beginning. The trees are getting acclimatised so according to me in next four to five years these trees will start bearing good, sweet apples.”

In his own small way, Mr Sawant is hoping to meet India’s rising demand for apples.

Production has risen 15% over the last five years to 2.5 million tonnes.

But that is not keeping up with demand and India’s imports have roughly doubled to 600,000 tonnes over the same period, according to S Chandrashekhar, who analyses India’s apple trade.

“We do have a shortage of apple production,” he says. “There are not many new players… at the same time, and there is no new investment.”

Essential for a good apple crop is a lengthy period of winter temperature between 0C and 6C.

Countries like the UK, with around 1,000 hours of this chill-time, can produce almost any apple variety.

But in India areas with those conditions are more limited.

Most of India’s apples come from two regions in the north of the country -Jammu and Kashmir and neighbouring Himachal Pradesh.

Mr Chandrashekhar says that many farms in those regions are becoming less productive.

“There are lot of old orchards producing fewer apples – that means the yield is coming down,” he says.

He says that climate change is making conditions less favourable.

In the hope of expanding apple production into new areas, some scientists and farmers are experimenting with so-called low-chill varieties.

Those are apple trees that can produce crops with around 400 hours of temperatures between 0C and 6C.

Ranchi, eastern India is also not an apple growing region – its subtropical climate is too hot.

But researchers at the Birsa Agricultural University (BAU) are testing 18 saplings of three low-chill varieties.

Success has been limited so far – only one of the varieties has produced any fruit.

“The plants have not reached optimal sizes. The tree has given us only around one to two kilogrammes of apples in 2024. I would not say that they are of best quality, but they were edible,” says Dr Majid Ali.

He says that as well as an unfavourable climate, the local soil is not ideal for apple trees and the trees get attacked by termites.

“This is an experimental stage. To reach a conclusion it would take three to four years to say if it is successful.”

He says that some local farmers have also been experimenting with low-chill apple varieties, also with little success.

Some are sceptical that apples cultivated in hot areas will ever be a commercial proposition.

“The fruit that grows in non-traditional regions has a very short shelf life. The taste is not so sweet,” says Dr Dinesh Thakur, associate director of a regional horticulture research and training centre at Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry.

“These low-chill apples can be grown as novelty fruit in a kitchen garden, but their viability as a commercial crop is not proven… most of them are a failure,” he says.

Dr Thakur is based in the traditional northern apple growing region of Himachal Pradesh and his research focuses on the improvement of apples through breeding.

“Climatic change is creating havoc in apple cultivation,” he says.

He says the number of those crucial chilling hours are falling and due to erratic weather conditions farmers are facing colossal financial losses every year.

In search of better conditions, some orchards are being planted in higher locations, which were once considered too cold, he says.

Under a government sponsored project his team are experimenting with 300 varieties of apples, to assess the impact of climate change.

“We are also working on climate-resilient apple genotypes that can withstand the existing climate,” he says.

So far, they have developed an apple that matures with a ripe colour two months earlier than existing apple trees.

“This helps offset erratic weather patterns brought by climate change and has a quality advantage over those areas where colour formation is problem due to lack of sunlight,” Dr Thakur says.

“This is just the beginning of research to create climate resilient fruit and create a fruit that is acceptable to the Indian taste bud.”

For Mr Chandrashekhar, boosting India’s apple output will take more than just scientific work.

“Apple orchards in the traditional apple cultivation areas are 15 to 20 years old. What is needed is replanting of new saplings,” he says.

“The industry needs investment, huge investment. Who will do that?” he asks.

He would like to see the juice and jam business developed, to provide the industry with another source of income.

“That has to be a booster which can improve the apple economy and provide a better position for apple growers.”