Walnut Industry in Jammu and Kashmir: A Geographical Analysis

Abstract

Walnut occupies an important position in the horticulture industry of Jammu and Kashmir. It has the monopoly of producing excellent quality of walnuts contributing more than 90 per cent of Indian walnut production. The temperate climatic conditions favour its cultivation and offer Jammu and Kashmir an exceptional edge to super pass the other states in terms of walnuts. In this research paper, an attempt has been made to find out spatiotemporal analysis of walnut production and to estimate economic advantage of this dry fruit. It has been observed that all the districts of the state produce the walnut except the Jammu and Samba. Further, it has been found that Jammu division recorded 15.21 per cent of growth in the area and 267.92 per cent growth in production. The foreign exchange earnings at the same time recorded an overall change of-89.45 per cent there are several limitations which encompass the walnut industry. Therefore it is an urgent need to save this dry fruit by involving people across all sections and by putting in place the all supportive measures.