When “White Manure” Disappears From India's Himachal Region, So Do The Apple Trees
- Anuj Behal
- Sep 18
- 8 min read
Since last December, apple orchardist Suresh Boorish has been driving about ten kilometres uphill the Ropa Valley in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh every few days to bring back a special “fertilizer” for his crops: piles of snow.
This “white manure” hauled from the upper slopes has become an unlikely but essential lifeline for apple growers in the Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh. Without snow at their roots, apple trees in the region can’t grow.
“It’s only in the last 2–3 years that we’ve started doing this,” Boorish says. “Other than moisture, it also provided the plants with nutrients — almost like a natural fertilizer. But earlier, there was no need. The valley used to get enough snow. ”
As the quantity of snowfall in the valley shrinks due to warmer winters, apple farmers find themselves going higher and higher up the valley to bring back snow for their crops, something they never imagined doing. “It hardly snowed this year. Almost nothing in the valley,” the 35-year-old says, pulling his woolen cap down against the cold wind. “The trees are flowering, and this is when they need the most care. At this point, it’s not about a good harvest — it’s about keeping them alive.”
In Himachal Pradesh, apples are the backbone of the horticultural economy, accounting for almost half of the total area under fruit cultivation. In Kinnaur, apples are even more essential—over 85% of the working-age population relies on apple cultivation and related activities. Yet, the region is uniquely vulnerable. With limited irrigation channels and no access to groundwater, the region depends heavily on natural precipitation.
As Kinnaur warms due to a changing climate and the rhythms of winter alter, the future of apple farming in the region looks bleak, pushing desperate farmers to find adaptations that may be unsustainable just to keep their orchards alive. Boorish says at the moment, manually transporting snow directly to the roots is the only viable option. “Even the snow we do get melts quickly,” Boorish says.
Rapid Climate Change in Just A Few Decades
Just a generation ago, winters in the Ropa valley meant the landscape would be completely blanketed with snow for nearly half of the year.
“By December, the streets would be buried under three to four feet of snow. We used to walk across rooftops to get around,” 86-year-old local Tika Ram Lama says, recalling the past as he sits outside his wooden home.
But this year, even February and March have passed with barely a trace of snow. Aside from a few distant peaks, the region remained largely bare. “Now, even in December, there’s just a light dusting,” Boorish says. “Vehicles move freely, and people walk around like it’s any other season. It never used to be this way.”
According to a 2024 study by the Himachal Pradesh State Center on Climate Change, the total snow cover in the state declined by about 10% from 2022 to 2023. The Satluj Basin in particular, which includes parts of Kinnaur, saw an even sharper drop of 22% in a year.
The snow line in the entire Himalayan region has been rising upwards as well. A 2022 study that observed select glaciers in Himachal Pradesh found an increase in snow line altitude by about 400m in three decades, which means that lower altitudes that previously received snow now receive less or no snow at all.
“Now, even in December, there’s just a light dusting. Vehicles move freely, and people walk around like it’s any other season. It never used to be this way.”
This is a result of increasing temperatures due to climate change in the valley. Maximum temperatures in the Kinnaur district show a rising trend over time, particularly during the critical winter and pre-flowering months, according to another 2022 study.
Yet, snowfall is crucial for maintaining soil moisture through the winter. “We’re constantly on edge — doing whatever we can to keep the trees alive,” Boorish says.
Snow Belt Shifts Himachal’s Apple Belt
Once confined to the state’s mid-hills, Himachal’s apple belt is now shifting into the upper Himalayan ranges, particularly in districts like Kinnaur and Lahaul-Spiti. Both regions, previously considered too cold and inhospitable for orchards, have seen a significant rise in apple production in recent years.
A 2020 study shows how the elevation at which apples are grown has steadily climbed over the past four decades. In the 1980s, apple orchards thrived between an altitude of 1,200–1,500m in places such as Arki, Kotli, Palampur, Dharamshala, and Karsog. By the early 2000s, cultivation had moved to elevations between 1,500–2,500m, in areas such as Rohru, Habban Valley, Manali, Thunag, Jubbal, and Bharmour. Today, apple farming has reached the 2,500–3,500m zones, stretching across Theog, Sangla, Pooh, and Keylong, regions that once lay outside the fruit’s comfort zone.
Nearly 90% of farmers surveyed in the study cited declining snowfall — and the resulting impact on chill hours — as the main reason for the shift. In the valleys that once produced Himachal’s prized apples, farmers are now switching to crops such as peas, barley, potatoes, and plums. Meanwhile, in higher reaches like Kinnaur and Spiti, traditional crops such as peas and potatoes were being replaced by apples, reshaping not just cropping patterns but entire rural economies.
“In my childhood, we never dreamt of growing apples here,” recalls Lama, who used to be a farmer in Spiti. “Twenty-five years ago, this valley only saw short bursts of cultivation — mostly potatoes and peas — because we had a growing window of just two to three months.”
But while Kinnaur’s apple boom has so far benefited from the changing climate, experts warn that this, too, will likely be short-lived.
“Apples, which were initially not suitable for Kinnaur, now produce higher-quality fruit and fetch better prices for farmers,” said Netrananda Sahu, a geography professor at Delhi University and lead author of a 2020 study on shifting apple belts. “What took decades to move apples uphill may now reverse within years if current climate trends continue,” he told The Xylom. “With farmers now struggling to even get the bare minimum snowfall needed for their crops, we could see apples disappearing from these valleys too.”
“At this point, it’s not about a good harvest — it’s about keeping them alive.”
Apple trees depend on a precise winter cycle of cold dormancy followed by spring bloom, which requires a consistent stretch of low temperatures during the winter. Without sufficient chilling hours––below 7.5°C for at least 1200 hours––trees fail to break dormancy, which results in poor flowering, a weak fruit set, and reduced yields.
A 2024 study by scientists at the Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment analysed three decades of temperature and rainfall data in Kinnaur, and found that average maximum and daily temperatures during the flowering stage have risen enough to affect apple and apricot plants with over 50% of the impact observed during critical phenological stages like pre-flowering and flowering.
“When moisture levels drop during key developmental stages, crops and fruit trees are deprived of essential nutrients, leading to a significant decline in productivity,” says Manoj Gupta, principal scientist of agronomy at Palampur Agricultural University.
With A Changing Climate Comes Changes in Pollination
A changing climate is not just altering the timing of apple blossoms but also has a ripple effect on pollination, a critical aspect of fruit production. Apple trees rely on a delicate and synchronized relationship with pollinators such as bees, which play a vital role in fertilization by transferring pollen from one flower to another. A study from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University found that bee pollination boosted apple production by 44%.
Himachal Pradesh relies on two species of bees for large-scale pollination: the Apis mellifera, commonly known as the Italian bee, and the Apis cerana indica, commonly known as the Indian bee.
The non-native Italian bee can travel greater distances and thrives in warmer temperatures compared to the Indian bee, making it more efficient at pollination as it visits 25-30 flowers per minute. But the growing dominance of the Italian bee has led to a decline of the native species, especially as native bee habitats and food sources are being damaged due to deforestation for farming and horticulture.
In a warmer climate, precipitation falls as rain instead of snow. Data from the National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture shows that the decadal average number of rainy days in the region rose by 43% between 2000-2010. Bees also get slowed down during rainy conditions, preferring to stay in their hives.
A 2023 report estimates that poor weather and bee mortality led to a 20% drop in pollination, directly affecting crop yields.
Farmers are noticing the effects of this disruption firsthand. “Pollination was never an issue in the past. Natural pollination was enough,” Boorish says. “But now, pollinizer varieties have to be introduced to help the orchards survive. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to rely on the natural process.”
Farmers in the region are now forced to introduce beehives in their orchards, despite the challenges and expenses required to take care of the bees, making the costs of raising apples in Kinnaur even higher. "We’re updating to new methods of pollination and renting bees now," Boorish explained. "Each hive costs around 1000-1200 rupees per month, and for every acre of land, at least two boxes are required."
The Strength of Flora is Failing
On top of shuffling snow downhill and increased pollination expenses, apple growers in Himachal also have to deal with growing concerns over fruit quality and plant health. During early or unusually warm spring seasons, the apples tend to be smaller, less firm, and more vulnerable to pests.
Snow played a crucial role in pest control by keeping the soil moist and killing off harmful fungi, germs, and root borers. Without it, trees are more vulnerable than ever.
As climate patterns shift, apple orchards are witnessing the emergence of diseases such as scab, premature defoliation, Alternaria, and Alternaria alternata. These infections, once seasonal, are now becoming endemic because variable and warmer weather conditions are creating the ideal window for their spread. Farmers have also reported a noticeable increase in fungal infections and new pest species that thrive in milder winters and wetter springs.
“The diseases have increased a lot,” Boorish says, referring to the growing number of infections affecting apple orchards. “Earlier, we managed with just one or two rounds of natural oil sprays. Now, we’ve had to switch to chemical sprays just to keep the orchards alive.”
But this growing reliance on chemical pesticides is creating new problems — overusing these chemicals disrupts the delicate mountain ecology, killing off beneficial insects like the ladybird beetle and the green lacewing, which are natural predators that once helped control pest populations.
For a region that saw unprecedented prosperity due to apple cultivation — families expanded their homes and upgraded their cars, as a result — the decline of wealth also seems sudden, Sahu says. “Apple farming turned fortunes around in these high-altitude areas,” he said. “But the very climate that allowed apples to thrive in the upper Himalayas is now turning against it.”
But the stakes are far more than just financial. “We’re not just losing produce,” Boorish says. “We’re losing faith—in the land, in the seasons, in everything we’ve known.”
