The decision to this effect was taken at an emergency meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association in Shimla, the state capital on Sunday. President of the association, Lekh Raj Chauhan told this reporter that these protest rallies are to be organised at tehsil and block levels.

The hill state is heading for the leanest crop ever according to sources in the horticulture department and the University of Horticulture and Forestry, Solan in the hill state. According to Chauhan despite this lean crop, the growers were getting poorer because of the move to allow import of apples.

The association has been demanding that the price of processable apple under the market support price should be fixed at a minimum of Rs 450 per quintal as against Rs 375 in viewof steep increase in cost of inputs. The plucking of apple crop has now begun as the crop has already hit the market.

But the fear of competition from the apple that the union government has allowed to be imported mainly from Australia and New Zealand has caused much frustration among the apple growers.

Under the policy of ``Open General Licence,'' the union government has permitted import of apple this year and the growers feel that it would add to their woes as the crop is all-time low this year.

According to experts, the apple crop would be around 20 per cent of last year this season. Last year the total crop was about 3.94 lakh tonnes. The policy of Open General Licence has generated a fear psychosis among the growers. First it was the lean crop and secondly it would be direct competition with the imported apple.

Sources said that chief minister, Prem Kumar Dhumal has met the prime minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee and urged him to come to the rescue of growers as apple was the backbone ofHimachal's economy.

He reportedly told the prime minister that there was panic among the growers as the crop was all-time low and there was no apple insurance policy.

Experts from United States led by Donn Johnson visited Himachal orchards to assess the reasons for the loss to apple crop and have found that non- application of ``integrated pest management'' had played havoc with the crop.

Diseases and attack of red European mite, woolly apple aphid and excessive use of chemicals and sprays had done an excessive damage to the apple crop. They have stressed upon the integrated pest management to save apple crop from insects which hit the crop during extreme humid and drought conditions.

The best way to control mote is to switch over to eco-friendly biological control methods. In the fresh orchards, Indian gypsies-the sly creatures have done lot of damage.

Another factor that led to low crop this year has been high temperature during the flowering stage which led to withering away of the crop later.

Experts in the YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry at Solan, including LRVerma, KK Jindal and JS Chandel point out that though the country ranks 10th in apple production in the world, yet the productivity was very low as compared to many developed countries.

Of many factors, pollination was an important factor that affected fruit production. Although tree produces abundant bloom it fails to get fruit due to the lack of pollination and unfavourable conditions.

However, the leanest apple crop this year has surprised not only the state government officials but the experts also who say that this was perhaps the worst crop in the last 30 years.

Meanwhile the state government has asked the Himachal Agro Packaging Industries to immediately make available 20 lakh telescopic cartons, 60,000 flower cartons, 10 lakh Kulu cartons of 10 kg capacity so that at least nothing is lost of the leanest ever apple crop.

The rate that early variety from Rajgarh and Karson has got in Delhi market of Rs 850per box of 20 kg apple as against Rs 600 per box last year when the apple crop was highest ever has given some hope to growers of good price.

However, fear of competition from imported apple under the Open General Licence policy of Union government lurks in the minds of Himachalis.