Srinagar, Aug. 2 -- In the villages of Pulwama and Shopian, apples are a badge of pride and progress. Families have tended these orchards for generations. They know how to prune branches, read the sky for hail, and time the harvest to perfection.

But lately, a darker knowledge has taken root.

Mothers speak in hushed tones about daughters who can't conceive. Young men queue at clinics for unexplained spinal pain.

In one village of 1,400 homes, 15 cancer cases have emerged in just a few years.

I began noticing these patterns during training sessions and outreach camps held in South Kashmir. Women from orchardist households would stay behind after the formal sessions ended.

"Why are we seeing so many girls who can't get pregnant?" one w...