New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- In the small village of Losedanow, nestled in Kashmir's apple town of Shopian, Sayar Ahmad Lone hoped to change his family's fortune when he invested Rs.16 lakh in European high-density apple saplings for his orchard three years ago.

year-old apple trees for the promise of higher yields, quicker harvests, and better returns. But this year, an unexpected glut in the apple market has sent prices tumbling-leaving Lone and thousands of growers across the valley anxious about their investments.

"The hype around high-density apple farming was so strong that my family agreed to uproot the orchard established by our ancestors to make way for a new high-density plantation. But with the trees yet to bear fruit, prices have a...