Growers blame fungicide use; samples sent for laboratory testing Shopian, June 15: Fruit growers in Sugu and Kachdoora villages of south Kashmir’s Shopian district have reported extensive premature fruit drop in apple orchards, alleging that the damage occurred after the application of a fungicide containing Mancozeb. The affected growers claimed the incident has caused widespread concern among orchardists and raised fears over potential economic losses during the ongoing fruit season. Mushtaq Ahmad, one of the affected farmers, said substantial fruit loss was noticed within days of spraying the fungicide in his orchard.