Livelihood in northern mountains of Pakistan is largely subsistence oriented. Hence household level agriculture i.e. small scale crop cultivation to produce cereals mainly wheat, fodder crops for livestock, orchards, etc, and animal production remains the biggest support to household economy. Fifty percent of the respondents depend on only household agriculture (HHA). Second largest category of them (42 percent) support livelihood employment along with HHA, although off-farm employment opportunities in Hindu Kush-Himalayan (HKH) belt of Pakistan is quite limited. Family members do seek employment in the plains of Pakistan. Small fraction of people (six percent) is engaged in local level micro-enterprise like retail shops called business in addition to HHA. Only two percent of the people are farmers as well as daily-wage laborers.
In Gilgit-Baltistan region, apricots along with other deciduous fruits are primarily produced as cash crop where majority of families grow apricot. Average household has 28 trees of which nine are bearing fruit and producing 750 kilograms of apricot per annum (GOP, 1989). The practice of planting seeds from the best trees over an extended period of time has resulted in an incredible amount of variation. Many years ago, the farmers did learn to graft, hence in each village in addition to seedling trees, one would now find many favorite local cultivars. Distribution of favorite cultivars remained uneven because some existed in only one village and others were widely distributed but primarily within the confines of each former kingdom. In several villages survey showed 180 different cultivars as a sample of variation that existed in the region. It reported 31 local cultivars in Ghanche district. Overall, good quality apricots are characterized as very high in soluble solids and sweet kernels with relatively small size. Fruit size was not important selection criterion.
Apricots are by far the single largest livelihood source with immediate commercial potential for a significant proportion of population in Gilgit-Baltistan although farmers have yet to realize its full potential. Forty (40) percent of the rural households would annually earn Rs5,000-6,000 from apricot and its byproduct in Gilgit-Baltistan. A farmer would often have as few as two or three trees of the same cultivar mixed with others. Therefore, grading becomes the main problem.
In Hunza, one of the larger fruited cultivar has outstanding quality for both fresh as well as dry use, with high soluble solids, pronounced aroma, and rich flavor. ‘Alishah Kakas’ is another favorite in Hunza because of its exceptionally high soluble solids, fine quality and firm texture making it suitable for shipping fresh and excellent for drying. In Baltistan, ‘Margulam’ is prized as a fresh fruit for its juiciness, sweetness and fine flavor, whereas ‘Halmon’ is the best for drying due to its high soluble solids and rapid drying characteristic. ‘Kachachuli’ is unique too, although the fruit has relatively high soluble solids, the flesh reaches a moderate degree of firmness and did not soften further with age, hence its local name actually said, ‘apricot that doesn’t ripen’. ‘Kachachuli’ is grown mainly for its large edible seed. A local storage cultivar is said to hold its quality until March once stored underground as per indigenous practices.
Farmers own a variety of fruit plants including apricot, apples, almond, pear, cherry, walnut, etc. Fruits have mainly been produced to meet annual family needs for dry fruit, particularly during severe winter. Among all respondents in the abovementioned survey, 86 percent ranked apricot as their most preferred fruit tree because apricot would meet most of their subsistence needs. Dried apricot and kernels are main dry fruits for winter. Most fuel wood is obtained from apricot trees. Oil from kernels is obtained for various domestic uses. Cracked kernel shells are also used as fuel. The second preferred fruit plant is apple (10 percent).
There is considerable scope to introduce new cultivars with extended shelf life and successive ripening sequence over the season to extend the apricot marketing down to big commercial centers of plains. It is reported that about 60 apricot varieties in Gilgit-Baltistan, whereas Halman, Karfochuli, Marghulam and Sharakarfa are the prime. Most apricot cultivars blossom in early March. The blossoming time is about a fortnight and may be prolonged or shortened by the presence or absence of cold spell. Considerable variation is also shown by different cultivars in their blossoming habits. The incidence of frost during March is common and considerable damage to apricot crop is annually experienced.
The apricot is believed to have originated in China, where it has been cultivated for over 4,000 years. It has also been grown in India and Tibet from time immemorial. The Hunzas, who live in the Himalayas in northern Pakistan and are known for their vitality and longevity, have cultivated and valued this fruit for its health-building virtues for over 1,500 years. It was regarded as a food medicine by Greek physicians, while the Romans dedicated it to Venus, the goddess of love. It was introduced in Europe during the time of Alexander, the Great. In the Middle East, apricots were very popular for their taste as well as for their invigorating perfume.
The center of diversity of the apricot is northeastern China near the Russian border (in the Great Wall area). From there, it spread west throughout Central Asia. Cultivation in China dates back 3,000 years. The Romans introduced apricots to Europe in 70-60 BC through Greece and Italy. Apricots probably moved to the United States through English settlers on the East Coast, and Spanish Missionaries in California. For much of their history of cultivation, apricots were grown from seedlings and few improved cultivars existed until the 19th century. Cultivars vary among countries, and in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria, a great deal of the production is from seedling orchards. Cultivation in the United States was confined to frost-free sites along the Pacific slope of California, due to early bloom but relatively high chilling requirement, and fungal disease problems in humid climates. Now, most of the production in California is in the San Joaquin valley.
Through centuries, as humans moved from Central Asia into Karakoram and Himalayan valleys, they brought apricots with them to the region where apricot trees were commonly grown from seed. As a traditional selection process, the fruit is evaluated as soon as a tree started fruit bearing and the inferior quality fruit trees are budded to good local cultivars. However, a seedling tree bearing good quality fruit would not be budded and is often given a name.
With the passage of time, apricot got very well adapted and became abundant all over the arid inner mountain valleys at elevations from about 1,200 meters to 2,900 meters. Among these extremely high, precipitous mountains characterized with very small river valleys, there were several former mini-kingdoms, completely isolated from each other as well as from the outside world until very recently. For them, apricot was a main staple food, providing fresh fruit throughout summer, dried fruit and edible kernels for winter, oil from bitter seeds for lamps, and firewood in this relatively treeless land.
In Indo-Pakistan, apricots were probably introduced from Iran and Afghanistan (Gina). In Pakistan, apricot is being grown in the uplands of Balochistan province, Parachinar, Hangu, Chitral, Swat, Hazara and Diamer districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Potohar and Murree Hills in Punjab, northern Kashmir and Gilgit, Chilas and Baltistan.
Apricot (Prunus armeniaca L) is a member of the Rosaceae family along with apple, pear, peach and other stone fruits. The apricot is found in the Prunophora subgenus within Prunus along with plums. Hybrids between plums and apricots have been produced recently, which are said to be finer fruits than either parent. A ‘Plumcot’ is 50 percent plum, 50 percent apricot; an ‘Aprium’ is 75 percent apricot, 25 percent plum; and the most popular hybrid, the ‘Pluot’ is 75 percent plum and 25 percent apricot.
The apricot is one of the most important fruits. It belongs to the sub-acid class. It is somewhat cid in its raw state, but its acidity decreases and the sugar content increases in the process of ripening. The fruit is regarded as a nutritious and tonic food and enjoys worldwide popularity. The apricot is a stone fruit and has nut within it. It is round or oblong in shape, flattened to some extent. It is similar in shape as peach but is considerably smaller. It is yellowish in color. The fruit which ripens on the tree alone develops its true flavors which are very much like that of the peach.
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