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_: Balochistan is the country's fruit basket. It contributes 90 per cent national production of grapes, cherry and almonds, 60 per cent of peach, pomegranate, apricot and 34 per cent of apple and 70 per cent of dates.
Fruit crops are grown over an area of 149726 hectares in Balochistan and approximately 889490 tons of production is achieved annually. Apples, almonds, grapes, apricots, peaches, plums, and dates are grown over an area of 48329 hectares, 10621 hectares, 12240 hectares, 10999 hectares, 3945 hectares, 3872 hectares and 43099 hectares, respectively. Thousands tons of apples are exported each year from Balochistan. Over 80 per cent of the quality apples are produced in the province.
Fruit production in highland Balochistan, which contains south-western region, depends on the availability of groundwater. The region is famous for grape production of commercial varieties such as Kishmishi and Shundokhani . Apricot and plum are high delta fruits, which are grown in upland Balochistan. Grape is a low delta crop and may be grown in all types of climates and soils. The province is famous for its grape production of commercial varieties. The grapes are grown in bulk in Quetta, Pi shin, KaI at, Zhob, Loral ai and Mästung districts, which are currently facing the problem of power shortage. The acute shortage of water due to frequent power break down has been playing havoc with these fruit crops.
The experts believe that Balochistan' s tremendous yield potential of high quality deciduous fruits can efficiently be tapped by establishing 'crop specific zone' and "fruit processing units" in the province. Each agro-ecological zone in the province presents specific agro-climatic conditions for production of different kinds of fruits. Zoning is essential for...