HRMN-99 Apple Variety: Origin, History and Scientific Validation of India’s Hot Climate Apple

For generations, Indians have linked apples with snow-capped Himalayan slopes. The HRMN 99 apple variety, also known as the Hariman 99 apple, challenged that belief. It is a low chilling apple variety that began as a chance seedling in a farmer’s backyard in Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh, and has since been documented flowering and fruiting in regions where summer temperatures reach 40–45°C.

This article explains where HRMN-99 came from, who developed it, how national institutions tested it, and why it is treated as a genuine hot climate apple variety rather than a marketing claim. The focus is history and evidence, not detailed care or buying advice.

In 1998, Hariman Sharma, a progressive farmer from Paniala village in Ghumarwin tehsil of Bilaspur district, bought some apples for his family. After eating them, the seeds were tossed into the backyard. Paniala lies in the lower Shivalik hills at roughly 1,800 feet above mean sea level, a subtropical belt better known for mango, guava, citrus and pomegranate than apples.

In 1999, one seed germinated, survived the heat and grew vigorously. By 2001 it had flowered and borne fruit. This was surprising on two counts: seedling apples usually take five to six years or longer to fruit, and apples were not expected to fruit at all at such a low, warm elevation.

Hariman Sharma, later called the ‘Apple Man of Bilaspur’ by a local newspaper, recognised that a fruiting apple tree in his village was extraordinary. Instead of treating it as a curiosity, he protected the mother plant and observed it season after season.

Most commercial apple varieties need prolonged winter chilling, typically about 1,000 to 1,500 hours below 7°C, to break dormancy and flower uniformly. That is why India’s apple orchards have stayed concentrated at roughly 5,000–8,500 feet in Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Without enough cold, flowering becomes erratic, fruit set declines and quality suffers.

Low-chill cultivars such as Anna and Dorsett Golden were introduced and evaluated in India from the early 1990s, but adoption remained limited. HRMN-99 stood apart. NIF documentation describes it as needing very little or almost no deep chilling, while Anna and Dorsett Golden require about 100 chilling hours. This trait explains why HRMN-99 is discussed as an apple for low hills, plains, tropical and subtropical areas.

A single remarkable tree means little unless its traits can be reproduced. In 2002, with no apple rootstock available locally, Hariman Sharma grafted branches of the mother tree onto a plum tree. The graft succeeded and fruit quality was good. During 2003–05 he brought crab apple seedlings from Shimla, used them as rootstock and built a mini orchard around the original tree, alongside mango, plum, peach, apricot, pomegranate and kiwi. Today he sources crab apple seedlings from Kashmir every year for grafting.

The grafted trees reproduced the parent’s growth habit, colour and taste, showing that the traits were stable through vegetative propagation. The name HRMN-99 combines ‘HRMN’ from Hariman and ‘99’ for 1999, the year the seedling emerged. This farmer-led innovation came from observation and patience, not a laboratory breeding programme.

The turning point came when Dr P.L. Gautam, then Chairperson of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), connected Hariman Sharma with the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology. From there, HRMN-99 moved into structured scientific scrutiny.

Multi-location trials: Between 2014 and 2019, NIF facilitated planting of over 20,000 saplings at farmers’ fields and 25 organisations, including Rashtrapati Bhavan. Fruit set was reported from 23 states and Union Territories, including Bihar, Manipur, Gujarat, Karnataka, Telangana, Kerala and Delhi. Commercial cultivation began in Manipur in 2015.

Legal protection: NIF filed the application on Hariman Sharma’s behalf under the PPV&FR Act, 2001, a process requiring evidence of distinctness, uniformity and stability. The TAAS success story ‘HRMN-99: Transforming India’s Apple Landscape’ reports that the variety has since received registration and protection.

Recognition: He received the 9th National Biennial Grassroots Innovation and Outstanding Traditional Knowledge Award 2017 (National Second, Plant Variety) from President Pranab Mukherjee, the IARI Fellow Award 2017, and the Padma Shri on 28 April 2025.

Its June harvest also arrives before most hill apples reach markets, a timing advantage highlighted in TAAS and NIF reports.

HRMN-99 is adaptable, but results depend on the plant you start with and how you manage it. Scientific reports note that apple remains a climate-sensitive crop and that HRMN-99 performs better with appropriate soil management and agronomic practices.

• ✅Start with genuine grafted plants, since seedlings will not carry the same traits.
• ✅Expect seasonal pruning, steady irrigation and balanced nutrition.
• ✅Performance varies with soil, local climate and care, so treat yields as potential, not guarantees.
• ✅Plan to eat or share fruit soon after harvest because of its short shelf life.

HRMN-99 shows how one farmer’s careful observation, backed by NIF, ICAR institutions, GSBTM and the PPV&FR framework, can expand the map of apple growing in India. Its story is rooted in documented evidence: a fruiting seedling in 2001, stable grafts, DNA fingerprinting, fruit quality reports and multi-state trials.

If you would like to grow this piece of horticultural history in your own garden, you can explore genuine grafted plants on the Greens of Kerala HRMN-99 hot climate apple plant page.