Constraints in deciduous fruit development in Nepal - Physical and Environmental Constraints

Physically, Nepal is situated in a very difficult region of the world. More than 80% of its geographical area comes under hilly and difficult terrain with very steep slopes, loose soil and rocky structure. It is understandable how difficult it is to establish the basic development infrastructures in these areas for a very poor country like Nepal. It is also being threatened by the alarming situation with regard to environmental degradation and soil erosion that is being created by the rapidly growing population, compounded by unemployment and poverty (> 40% are below absolute poverty line).

It might appear that there would be great opportunities to grow a wide range of fruit species at specific locations in Nepal when one considers the enormous range of climatic conditions. However, certain unfavorable conditions also exist in Nepal such as heavy rain during monsoon period, uneven distribution of rainfall, high wind and hailstorms, spring frost etc. More than 90% of rainfall occurs from June through September, precisely when deciduous fruits are developing and maturing. It is difficult to control diseases and insects during such warm humid summers.

In the dry spring months from March to May when temperatures are high with little rain and no irrigation, fruit trees are seriously stressed due to which productivity is reduced. In most of the deciduous fruit growing areas, spring hailstorms are very common, which cause tremendous damage to developing fruits. Many potential deciduous fruit growing pockets in high mountains experience spring frosts that can destroy the flowers at full bloom stage. This spring frost causes more damage to warm temperate fruits like pear, peach and plum. Some important fruit growing areas like Mustang and Jumla experience strong wind in the spring that causes severe flower and fruit drop.[Source: http://www.fao.org/docrep/004/ab985e/ab9… ]