Growing apple
Malus domesticaApple is a temperate fruit tree raised from grafted saplings in the Himalayan hills. It needs a long cold winter to flower and fruit well, so it suits the high hills and not the warm plains or coasts.
Cold desert: Ladakh, Lahaul and Spiti
At a glance
Apple in the Cold desert
Picked from September to October
No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.About 130 to 150 days from full bloom to picking. The short frost-free season leaves little room for late varieties.
No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.Mid-March to April
No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Across India
When to sow it
Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.
Wait until March
The next sowing here is Mid-March to April.
- Transplant
- Harvest
- Today
- Not suited here
Compare all 12 regionsShow fewer regions
See the dates as a table
| Region | Sow | Nursery | Transplant | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cold desert | Mid-March to April | September to October | ||
| Temperate Himalaya | DecemberMarch | Late July to October | ||
| Sub-tropical foothills | Not suited here | |||
| North-west plains | Not suited here | |||
| Gangetic plains | Not suited here | |||
| North-east hills and valleys | December to February | Late July to September | ||
| Arid west | Not suited here | |||
| Central plateau | Not suited here | |||
| Deccan plateau | Not suited here | |||
| South interior | Not suited here | |||
| West coast | Not suited here | |||
| East coast | Not suited here | |||
From seed to harvest
One season, day by day
Days from sowing
Before sowing
Young trees, first three years
Well-rotted FYM or compost
5 to 15 kg per tree a year
Spread over the basin in early spring, work it in lightly and water
Bearing trees
Well-rotted FYM or compost
25 to 40 kg per tree a year
Spread over the basin in early spring, then mulch
No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Day 0
Sow
Day 130 to 150
Last picking
No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Before sowing
Well-rotted FYM or compost
5 to 15 kg per tree a year · Spread over the basin in early spring, work it in lightly and water · Young trees, first three years
Well-rotted FYM or compostNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
25 to 40 kg per tree a year · Spread over the basin in early spring, then mulch · Bearing trees
Day 0
Sow
Day 130 to 150
Last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Water every 7 to 10 days, more at flowering and fruit set and fruit growth, June to August.No published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
What it needs
Soil, sun and warmth
Soil pH1,11,12,16
5.5 to 6.5
Deep, well-drained loam rich in organic matter, at least 45 cm deep, with no hard layer underneath and no standing water. Avoid heavy clay and compact subsoil.
Sunlight1,11
Full sun. Plenty of summer sunshine is needed for the fruit to colour well.
Temperature1,11,16
Grows best at 21 to 24 °C
Monthly temperatures for the Cold desert aren't in the library yet.
Water and feeding
WateringNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Almost no rain falls in summer, so apple here depends on channel or drip irrigation. Water every 7 to 10 days from bud break to harvest, more often on sandy soil in July and August, and give one deep watering in autumn before the ground freezes. Do not let water stand around the trunk.
WeedingNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Keep the tree basin clear of weeds and grass by hand. A thick mulch of straw or dry grass keeps weeds down and saves water in this dry climate.
| When | What | How much | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young trees, first three years | Well-rotted FYM or compost | 5 to 15 kg per tree a year | Spread over the basin in early spring, work it in lightly and water |
| Bearing trees | Well-rotted FYM or compost | 25 to 40 kg per tree a year | Spread over the basin in early spring, then mulch |
Varieties and yield
10 to 20 kg a tree
Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.
Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Grows well with
Pests and diseasesNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Organic and cultural controls only.
Woolly apple aphid
Signs
White woolly colonies on bark, shoots and pruning wounds, and galls on the roots. Trees become stunted.
What to do
- Remove water sprouts and keep pruning cuts clean
- Protect the parasitic wasp Aphelinus mali by avoiding needless sprays
Prevention
- Plant trees on Malling Merton (MM) rootstocks
San Jose scale
Signs
Tiny grey scales on bark and young wood and red spots on the fruit. Heavy attacks weaken trees.
What to do
- Prune out heavily infested branches in winter and burn them
Prevention
- Plant only clean nursery stock and graft wood
Codling moth
Signs
Caterpillars bore into the fruit and tunnel to the core; damaged fruit drops early.
What to do
- Pheromone traps to catch the male moths
- Tie bands of corrugated cardboard or sacking round the trunks, then collect and destroy the larvae hiding under them
- Pick up and destroy fallen fruit every few days
Powdery mildew
Signs
White to grey powdery patches on young leaves and shoots, which stay stunted. Common in dry weather.
What to do
- Cut out and destroy mildewed shoot tips while pruning
Screen a photo with AI HealthPrevention
- Keep the canopy open so air moves through it
Apple scab
Signs
Olive-green, velvety spots on young leaves that turn dark; dark corky spots on the fruit. Less common in this dry climate, but it can follow a wet spring.
Screen a photo with AI HealthWhat to do
- Rake up fallen leaves in autumn and compost them or bury them
- Prune for an open canopy so leaves dry fast
Collar rot
Signs
Weak growth, yellowing leaves and dark, soft bark at the base of the trunk.
What to do
- Remove weeds and grass from around the trunk
Prevention
- Keep the graft union well above the soil
- Do not let water stand around the trunk
Seed and the season's end
Saving seed16Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.
Apple does not come true from seed, so seed is saved only to raise rootstock seedlings. Take it from fully ripe fruit of healthy, vigorous, high-yielding trees. Crab apple, White Dotted Red, Yellow Newton, Golden Delicious and Northern Spy give seed that germinates and grows well.
Cleaning the seed
Wash the seed clean in water and dry it in the shade.
Keep dry seed in airtight containers in a cool, dry place; apple seed keeps for 2 to 3 years. Before sowing it needs 50 to 70 days of moist chilling at 1 to 5°C.
After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Cold desert, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.
Apple is a perennial, so nothing is cleared after harvest. Rake up and compost the fallen leaves, take out fallen fruit, and prune while the trees are dormant in late winter, after the hardest cold has passed.
Rake up fallen leaves and fruit after leaf fall and compost them in a pit away from the trees. Chip or compost prunings; burn diseased wood rather than leaving it in the orchard.
Rotation
When an old orchard is removed, grow a few seasons of legumes, fodder grasses or vegetables before planting apple again, and do not set new trees back into the old pits.
Sources
Where this comes from
Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.
These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.
- Apple: soil and climateNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: area under cultivationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- IPM package of practices for apple (for producing quality fruits for export)Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage, Government of India (reviewed by ICAR-CITH Srinagar)Read the source
- Apple: plantingNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: propagationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: harvesting and yieldNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: irrigationNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: intercultural operationsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: diseasesNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
- Apple: pestsNational Horticulture BoardRead the source
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