Kashmir village emerges as cradle of international-standard grapes

While Kashmir is known for its quality apples world over, not many know that a sleepy hamlet in central Ganderbal district has emerged as a cradle of international-quality grapes in the valley.

Situated on the foothills of Himalayan Range Mountains, the south-facing aspect of the Repora village makes it feasible for the cultivation of grapes besides being well irrigated and open to maximum possible sunshine.

Grapes are cultivated on about 60 hectares of land in the village which yields 750 to 900 metric tonnes providing livelihood to hundreds of families in the areas. It is pertinent to mention that Repora grapes get ready when fresh grapes are not available anywhere in the world except Italy.

The high quality grapes produced in the village sell between Rs 200 to Rs 300 per kilogram depending on the demand in the market. “Grapes usually get ready for harvest in the first week of September. But this year due to rise in the temperature, the produce ripened early and most of the growers have already completed the harvest,” Mohammad Abdullah, a grower told DH.

He said most of the growers in the area don’t use pesticides due to which the grapes of the area are in huge demand.

“The growers here have gradually replaced old techniques with new ones. The introduction of the trellis system and hail nets have helped in production and its safeguards, and our next target is to go for organic grapes,” Abdullah said.

Tracing the origin of grapes cultivation in the village, Farooq Ahmad Dar, another progressive farmer said, “The sweetness of the grapes of this village has been mentioned some 600 years ago by a famous sufi saint of Kashmir, Shiekh Noorudin Wali in his poetry.”

However, he said, the area started producing grapes on a commercial scale during the rule of Maharaja Hari Singh who used to grow grapes on his land at Repora which is now with the horticulture department.

Some of the varieties of grapes cultivated in the village include Sahibi imported from Hyderabad, Hussieni imported from Iran, Kishmish, Anabeshai Rubu and Thomsan. “Earlier, we used to send our produce to Srinagar fruit mandi, but now the customers line up outside our orchards. Whenever grapes are ready, the customers are waiting to buy the crop,” Dar added.

While the international standard of the best quality grapes is to have berry size of 4-5 grams,. Repora grapes have a size of about 14-15 grams exceeding international standards.

Former MLA Ganderbal, Shiekh Ishfaq Jabbar, believes that the production of grapes in the village could increase manifold if the government provides facilities like refrigeration vans and cold storage to the farmers.

Besides, he said, introduction of latest techniques could revolutionise grape production which in turn could provide more employment opportunities to the youth in future.

While cold storage facilities are not available, the farmers have their own technique to preserve the fruit. They keep it in earthen pots and cover them with mud. This way the life of the grapes is increased to six months.