Horticulture and Floriculture

Horticulture is the strongest part of the J&K economy: about Rs 10,000 crore a year, livelihood for about 35 lakh people (7 lakh families).

Key facts

• Area under major horticulture crops: 3.47 lakh ha (2025-26 up to Nov 2025), up from 3.42 lakh ha in 2021-22.
• Production: fresh and dry fruit rose from 20.06 lakh tonnes (2018-19) to 26.92 lakh tonnes (2024-25), a rise of about 34.2%.
• Apple: about half of the fruit area and more than three-fourths of fruit output. Annual apple output is about 20.4 to 20.6 lakh tonnes (Assembly replies). J&K gives about 70% of India's apples.
• Main apple districts: Baramulla (largest), Shopian, Kupwara, Anantnag, Kulgam, Pulwama, Budgam.
• Fruit exports outside the UT: 8.70 lakh tonnes worth Rs 3,809.97 crore (2025-26 up to November).

High-density plantation (HDP)

Post-harvest weakness

• Controlled Atmosphere (CA) storage: 2.92 lakh tonnes, likely 3.07 lakh tonnes, against a need of 6 lakh tonnes (about 30% of fruit output).
• Most CA stores are at Lassipora (Pulwama) and Aglar (Shopian).
• NITI Aayog roadmap to 2047: value of horticulture from about Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore; yield from 7.64 to 25 tonnes per hectare; processing from 2% to 25%; post-harvest loss from 20-30% to 2%.

Floriculture

• 278 parks and gardens (10,628.30 kanals) are run by the Floriculture Department, including the Tulip Garden and the Mughal Gardens.
• Commercial floriculture: 356.41 ha, 11,889 registered growers, Rs 42.92 crore income (2025-26 up to November).
• Garden revenue: Rs 6.70 crore (2021-22) to Rs 23.71 crore (2024-25).
• Bagh-e-Gul-e-Dawood, the first Chrysanthemum Garden, opened to tourists in October 2025 to build an autumn season.