As hailstorms continues to damage their crops, apple farmers in Himachal Pradesh have now started covering orchards with anti-hail nets. The farmers said that these nets, which costs them ₹600 and 800 approximately (€7.40-9.90), protect the crops in hail-prone areas like Rohru, Narkanda, Rampur, Jubble, Kotkhai Theog, Kotgarh and Chopal.
Earlier, a dozen of anti-hail guns were installed by the government, which however were not very successful. However, the farmers have been benefited to a great extent from these anti-hail nets.
Director of horticulture, Manohar Lal Dhiman: "The anti-hail nets should be installed before the setting up of the crop, after flowering. With the climate changing, the demand for anti-hail nets has gone up as this is the best way for farmers to protect their crop.”
Business-standard.com reports how Himachal Pradesh has 1.1 million hectares of land under cultivation. Out of this 200.000 hectares are fruit orchards.
