Poonch : Director Horticulture Jammu, Gul Syed visited Poonch district and conducted a comprehensive review of horticulture activities being carried out in the area. During his visit, the Director held a meeting with the Horticulture Officer and non-gazetted staff of the Horticulture Department Poonch. He reviewed the progress of various departmental schemes and discussed measures to improve horticulture services for farmers.
Gul Syed also visited the Government Fruit Plant Nursery Poonch and the MOCH Rajpura Mandi, where he inspected the ongoing activities and infrastructure. He issued necessary directions to the Horticulture Development Officer and nursery staff regarding the grafting of pecan nut plants and stressed the importance of maintaining high-quality planting material. The Director directed the department to establish demonstration plots of high-density fruit plants in the nursery so that farmers can observe their performance and be motivated to adopt high-density orchards instead of traditional low-yielding orchards of normal density. He emphasised that high-density plantation can significantly enhance productivity and farmers’ income.
During the tour, Gul Syed also visited Apple PEQ Centres, the Mother Block Apple Orchard established at Gulpur under the Holistic Agriculture Development Programme and an RMHD apple orchard in Panchayat Kuniyan of Zone Poonch. He further attended awareness camps organised at GaliPindi, Zone Sathra and Rajpura Mandi, Zone Mandi, where he interacted with farmers and encouraged them to adopt modern horticulture practices and avail themselves of the benefits of various government schemes. The Director advised farmers to adopt multiple cropping systems, undertake strawberry cultivation and increase the use of organic manure for sustainable farming. He highlighted that the adoption of these practices can help farmers improve their family income, strengthen their livelihoods and ensure long-term orchard productivity.
The Director was accompanied by Chief Horticulture Officer Poonch, Uttam Lal; District Horticulture Officer Poonch, Ajay Gupta; District Level Subject Matter Specialist (Pomology), Syed Muddasir Shah; District Level Subject Matter Specialist (Plant Pathology), Abdul Hamid; Naiz Ahmed, MCC Poonch; Horticulture Development Officer Lassana, Farooq Ahmed; Horticulture Development Officer Chandak, J.P. Singh; Horticulture Development Officer Mandi, Mohd Farid; Horticulture Development Officer Mendhar, Mohd Rafik; and Horticulture Development Officer Poonch, Rakesh Kumar along with other field staff of the department.
