Couple grow apples in coffee land!

It is a general notion that apples don’t grow in south India as it requires different weather. However, the couple have proved the belief of the people wrong.

It all happened when one fine day the couple planted a few apple saplings just like the way they planted any other saplings. After 5 years, the tree started yielding apples, but they looked little different from the regular apples grown in Himachal Pradesh.

The most interesting aspect is that the tree yields fruits twice in a year, once in November-December and again in March-April. Though there were nearly 300 apples on the tree, the couple could not reap the full benefit due to bird meance, he said.

The tree has become the talk of the town and many visit the couple’s house just to have a look at the tree. It is said that apple tree requires a minimum of cold weather for about 350 hours to get good yield.

In another instance, a certain Machamma at Kiragandur village, about 30 kms from this place, too has an apple tree, but she is not getting good yield.

It is said that there is a need for research on growing apples in the coffee land. As Kodagu receives an average annual rainfall of 300 cms to 400 cms, research by Central Horticulture Research Station at Chettalli can thrown light on the same.