Himachal Pradesh’s apple belt, popularly known as the “Apple Bowl of North India,” is reeling from a challenging season as heavy rains, hailstorms, widespread leaf drop disease, and repeated downpours during the harvest have severely affected production. Damaged roads in several areas have further delayed transportation to markets, cutting into farmers’ profits.

Young orchardist Anil Deshta from the Tikkar area of Shimla district told ANI that this year’s weather hit production severely. “We were badly affected by excessive rains. The leaves got damaged, and the quality of the apples dropped. Market rates did not even match the production cost. Leaf drop diseases caused fruits to fall early. Additionally, the broken roads delayed transportation to mandis, so we couldn’t fetch the expected

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