High-Density Apple Orchard Management

Written by: Naqib Ahmad Azizi

The weather of Afghanistan is well suited for gardening, and horticulturists are cultivating varieties of fruits.  Among fresh fruits, apple is one of the fruits that are considered to be of great value to horticulturists. In recent years, some of the horticulturists cultivated a new kind of apple trees. The writer/producer AEPO has talked to some gardeners and an agricultural expert at Paghman, district of Kabul province.

Abdul Azim, a gardener says: In one Jerib (0.40 Hectares) of land, we cultivate about 66 saplings of ordinary apple trees but we could cultivate about 1000 saplings of the new kind of apple trees (early ripe apple trees) in the same piece of land. The ordinary apple gives fruit after five or six years but the early ripe apple trees give fruits at the second year and the price of this kind of apple is double than the ordinary apple.

An agricultural expert, Abdul Samad Kamawi says: we import this kind of tree from Turkey. An exhibitive garden of early ripe apple costs about $: 3500. 80% of the cost pays Ministry of Agriculture of Afghanistan and the owner of the garden pays 20%. The cultivation of early ripe apple trees is the same as ordinary apple trees, but of this type, in each three meters, there is an iron pillar keeps the tree not to be broken by its fruits. The height of the tree is equal to the human height and easy to pick up its fruits. The fruits would be ripe two months before the other trees of apple and have a special taste, color and weight.