Srinagar, April 12 -- Farmers are increasingly resorting to hand pollination techniques to ensure better fruit setting this season.

This follows a sharp decline in natural pollinizers in apple orchards,

This shift comes as traditional pollinizer varieties such as Maharaja, Hazratbal, and Kisri - once common in orchards - are disappearing due to poor commercial returns.

Farmers across the valley are now innovating to counter the challenge. One widely adopted method involves cutting blooming twigs from the remaining natural pollinizer trees and placing them in other apple trees to aid pollination. According to many orchardists, this has significantly improved fruit setting and crop quality in recent seasons.

"This practice is now common...