Question
Hello,
Pls suggest me the remedies for the root rot disease in apple plants situated in Himachal Praddesh. India.

Answer
Dear Abhimanyu, I am sorry for the long delay in getting this to you, but there are several things that you can do to help with root rot in your area.  The root rot must be a problem this year, because I have had several questions from India about it.   Since too much water at times is an obvious problem, I suspect that this is behind the root rot situation. There are several things that you can do to fix this problem.  First ?we want to improve the drainage in the soil.  Be sure to keep all fallen leaves picked up and removed from the area.  Next, remove all grass or weeds from around the base of each tree for a distance of at least one meter. Then take a pitchfork and drive it into the ground around the trees about every foot or so in the cleared region and perhaps a bit into the grassy area. Be sure not to overdo it because you don抰 want to damage the roots, you just want to give the soil more drainage. Be careful about driving vehicles in the orchard because it will pack the soil down harder and make the drainage worse.
Now if the roots are affected by a soil borne fungus, there is no real cure, but you can minimize it greatly by improving the drainage. So if you have areas that stay soggy when it gets wet, pay careful attention to them and dig some small trenches to help move water away from those areas. One way that we test an area for drainage is to dig a hole and fill it with water. If it takes more than an hour for the water to drain out, then the area needs improvement.
When you have the sod cleared under the trees and the holes pierced into the ground with the pitchfork, you could use NEEM as a soil drench which might be fairly effective. Get NEEM cake for this if you can. It should be easily available in your area.
Ok ?last step for the roots is to put an organic mulch on top of the cleared area.  This will protect the ground from becoming overly saturated and it will also help nourish the tree.  Plus the acidity of the mulch will help prevent some diseases that apples can get.  There is a product that is actually available in India and has been used for root rot.  It is called NEEMDEW Neem cake.  Neem oil is extracted from neem seeds. The residue after oil extraction is neem cake.  It is supposed to be an excellent organic fertilizer that has been used for centuries by farmers in India.  Neem cake also helps control fungal diseases such as root rot.  You apply it at the rate of 500 grams for every 10 square meters and it should help to keep the trees from getting root rot.  I hope this information helps, but write back if I may offer more assistance.  Melissa