The 'father of apple cultivation' in Himachal Pradesh, Satyanand Stokes, was remembered by the growers of Kotgarh and Kumarsein to mark the '100 years of apple cultivation' in the state.
Speaking on the occasion, state horticulture minister Vidya Stokes, who is also daughter-in-law of Satyanand Stokes, said a humble beginning was made in the area 100 years ago. Today apple is grown over 1,10,679 hectare and the average annual production is 7.77 metric tonnes.
She said initially, only red, golden and royal varieties of apple were being grown but today there are more than 90 varieties are grown in the state.
The state government has imported root stocks of high yielding varieties of apple this year for distribution among apple growers, the minister said.
She also said apple cultivation has transformed the economy of the region and farmers in seven other districts of Himachal Pradesh have also forayed into apple cultivation.
Samuel Stokes, a US national, who later christened himself as Satyanand Stokes, had come to India and settled in Kotgarh area, known today as the "hub of apple cultivation". He introduced apple cultivation there which transformed the economy of the area.
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