Jammu, Sept. 11 -- Share Tweet Share By Anuj Kumar Verma, Horticulture is the backbone of the economy in both Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, yet a stark and troubling divide has emerged in how apple orchards are being managed across India's major hill states. While Kashmir's valleys produce more than three times the apples of Himachal and nearly fifty times those of Uttarakhand, they are also drowning in hazardous agrochemicals at a rate far higher than anywhere else in the country. J&K now records the highest pesticide application rate per hectare of gross cropped area in India. While the national average fell from 0.322 kg/ha in 2017-18 to 0.289 kg/ha in 2021-22, J&K surged to between 2.097 and 3.603 kg/ha in 2022-23, far above...