Walnut crop heavily hit

The walnut crop in this north Kashmir area has been heavily hit by the Saturday hailstorm. 
The growers said the walnut crop which is usually harvested during the first week of September has been badly hit.
The hail and windstorm swept away the walnuts on the trees and whatever crop was left intact was badly spoiled. 
Altaf Ahmad, a walnut grower of Tujjar Sharief area said that over 60 per cent crop has been damaged by the hailstorm. 
“The walnut production was already affected this year. The hailstorm further struck it. The fruit which remained on the trees has been damaged. Most of the crop has seen premature falling,” he said.   
Altaf said that for the entire year he had sweated and followed the schedule prescribed by the SKUAST for spraying. “But my entire hard work has gone useless. I have suffered immense losses,” he said, adding that the government should rush its loss assessing teams to the area and the growers should be compensated adequately.
Another walnut grower from the area, Zahoor Ahmad said that so strong was the hail and windstorm that many trees were uprooted in the area.