A team of international horticulture experts undertook an assessment during a visit to citrus orchards and pack houses to understand the reasons behind the declining kinnow prices.
They identified several factors contributing to this situation, including inadequate marketing services, a lack of processing industry, export rejections due to heavy metal traces and chemical residues, size-based grading only, vehicular pollution affecting orchards, phytophthora infection and the neglect of proper fruit thinning, which reduces fruit size despite higher yields.
Comprising international scientists and agricultural experts, the team, including Dr Rolston St Hillaire, Dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences and Technology at California State University, Fresno; Dr Gurreet Brar, Associate Professor of Horticulture at CSU, Fresno; Kewal Basi, a citrus grower in California; Dr Zora Singh, Professor of Horticulture from Edith Cowan University, Australia; and Amanpreet Brar, a member of the PAU Board of Management and citrus grower, aimed to comprehend the challenges faced by kinnow growers and devise potential solutions.
Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University, Satbir Singh Gosal, part of the visiting team, said Punjab, recognised as the leading kinnow producer, is grappling with a glut of kinnow fruit and a decline in exports.
The traditional practice of using waxing to extend kinnow shelf-life, employed by farmers, has faced criticism from importing countries. The experts emphasised the urgency of adopting color-based grading, in addition to size-based grading, to align with consumer preferences, said Brar.
Dr Zora Singh proposed planting orchards away from roads to reduce heavy metal absorption and recommended windbreak plantations between orchards and roads to minimise the impact of vehicular pollution.