A THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK OF MANAGEMENT OF HIGH-DENSITY APPLE TREES IN HIMALAYAN REGIONS FOR HIGH QUALITY AND HIGH PRODUCTION: EVIDENCES FROM KASHMIR VALLEY

This paper studied about the general management of high density apple trees for higher production and greater quality of apple fruit in Himalayan regions with special reference to Kashmir valley. This paper focuses on the nature of soil and planting and sequencing of high density apple plants for efficient production. The paper used POSDCORB type technique for allocation of the high density trees. The higher density system is more expensive in the investment year, but total growing costs are less than the central leader system. The net results showed that there is no significant difference in the total establishment and growing costs and the internal rates of return are greater than many alternative long-term investment opportunities. The paper concludes that efficient management leads to greater production. It is not sufficient to have HD plants but management of HD plants is necessary for harvesting better results.