Bottlenecks in Production and Marketing of Apple in Mountainous and Inaccessible Areas of Chenab Valley

Background: An attempt has been made in this study to identify the limitations encountered by the apple farmers in production and marketing which stall its growth in the study area. The present study has been carried out in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir union territory with special emphasis on selected districts which fall under Chenab Valley, which is mostly hilly terrain and mountainous, as these regions had the highest area and production under apple crop.Methods: The primary data has been collected by survey method by interviewing the apple farmers as well as different market functionaries directly through an especially prepared and pre-tested schedule. The Identified constraints of the farmers in the production and marketing of apple had been ranked by making use of the Garrett’s Ranking Technique.Result: The analysis of the study revealed large number of constraints in the production and marketing of the commercial varieties of apple in a selected area, out of which occurrence of apple disease such as Stem Black, Powdery Mildew, Scab, Nectaria Twig Blight, Alternative Twig Blight, Peppery Dark/Pink Disease. Similarly, some of the common pests reported are: Woolly Aphids, San Jose Scale, Stem Borer, Root Borer, Bark Borer had been the major problem faced by the Growers, high labor cost, lack of latest technical knowledge, high cost of transportation, lack of transportation facilities and costly packing material have been identified as the major problems. In order to overcome the marketing problems of the study area apple producers should be organized as federation, cooperatives and union. The study calls for all government and non-governmental organizations to work together to expand and improve apple production and establish apple marketing hub for tackling the bottlenecks in the expansion of apple crop in the study area.

Contributions to the knowledge of the San José scale (Hemiptera, Coccomorpha, Diaspididae) in Poland

In recent years, an increase abundance and harmfulness of the San José scale (Comstockaspis perniciosa (Comstock, 1881) has been reported from many European countries. In Poland, C. perniciosa was not observed after 1948–1949, when it was first collected, until it was found again in 2015. It is considered as the most serious pest infecting many different species of plants worldwide. Basic diagnostic information for the San José scale and the key to identify similar diaspidid species recorded in Poland is provided. Current knowledge regarding the biology, host plants, distribution, and control, as well as information regarding the life cycle of C. perniciosa in Poland is summarized.