Anantnag, Aug. 12 -- In the heart of Kashmir's apple country, just days before harvest, a mild gust of wind was all it took to bring down an entire high-density orchard. The collapse of the galvanised iron (GI) trellis system in Mirdanter village, Anantnag, has left grower Arif Shafiq Bhat counting his losses - and the region's horticulture industry counting the cost of substandard infrastructure.

Bhat's eight-kanal orchard, planted in 2019 by a private developer, was meant to be a model of Kashmir's high-density revolution - delivering higher yields, better quality, and greater resilience. Instead, on Thursday morning, he watched in disbelief as the flimsy metal frame buckled, toppling rows of fruit-laden trees. "The trellis was too wea...