parmar in adike patrike shetty planted 50 saplings at his farm in hirebandady near uppinangady ive planted a few on my farm at basavanahalli ramanagaram if the department takes interest apples could become a good support crop in kodagu the farmers say that its a distinct possibility has been shown by mandibased senior fruit scientist chiranjit parmar with help from a few farmers in the state but theres been no response adds shetty earlier there were takers for about 500 saplings and the numbers are growing the prolonged monsoon and pest attack here have stopped them from yielding the desired results he adds as did shashikala raj of masagodu village in somwarpet the trees here have shown better results with good care whereas at my farm it isnt so encouraging probably due to lack of care said nagananda theyve started flowering with kodagu a major coffee growing district welcoming the entry of apple cultivation success has been partial in some villages in somwarpet taluk his trees also bore fruit within two years shetty says the absence of winter helps growers here get two crops a year unlike in kashmir and himachal pradesh since theres no dormancy due to winter the fruits were small but tasty in dakshina kannada retired banker krishna shetty is still waiting to savour the fruits of his labour i started thinking why not at my home but couldnt get much ahead