Category: Fruit Science

At the beginning of the year 2020, our research team of Abhinavakrishi Research Organization Sambalpur, Odisha initiated a research project on the “Multi-location Trials on Strawberry (Fragaria x Annanasa Dutch) var. Winter Down in different locations of Western Odisha”. We have chosen this above variety as its performance is already evaluated and doing well in the tropical and subtropical areas of India.

Strawberry (Fragaria x Annanasa Dutch) is basically a fruit of temperate origin. It is originated from France. It is a manmade hybrid fruit crop. The hybrid originates from European horticulture in the 17th century as an accidental crossing between Fragaria virginiana and Fragaria chiloensis, species from America. It is an evergreen and low perennial herb in temperate regions of the world. During the growing season, the auxiliary buds of the crown produce prostrate growths called runners or stolen. It is propagated through runners as propagation through seed is not commercial and successful due to chilling requirement for germination, but in tropical and subtropical plain regions of India, it doesn’t produce runners. So it is transplanted in the winter season (September-October) and the growing period continues to February-March in Plain when the atmospheric temperature remains between 20⁰C to 30⁰C.

The fresh ripe fruit of strawberry is a rich source of vitamins and minerals. Higher contains vitamin C and iron makes it a very nutritious fruit crop with 98% edible portion. The edible portion is the thalamus which is having high commercial value and accepted by people of all age groups. Fruits are mostly eaten fresh, besides dessert purposes strawberries are processed into various value-added products like canned strawberry, jam, jelly, ice cream, wine, and other soft drinks. The strawberry jam is a famous  world over due to its aesthetic taste. Due to its increasing demand among urban Indian its potential area of cultivation is getting increased day by day in the plains and southern hills of India.

There are many different varieties of Strawberries are grown around the World for fulfilling the local needs and for export purpose in commercial scale. The climate of Western Odisha and hilly areas highly suitable for its commercial cultivation in the month of October to March in the open condition whereas inside the protected structure it can be grown around the year except for April to June.

In this year our multi-location trial(MLT) was done in 10 different locations of Western Odisha which comprises Sambalpur, Jharsuguda, Bolangir and Boud district. We have used different kinds of mulching materials (paddy straw, black polythene mulch, Silver Coated-Black polythene mulch), fertilizers (Organic and inorganic), different doses of growth regulator (Gibbrelic Acid) and different conditions (protected and open condition) for checking its performance, fruit quality, and its shelf life,

Fruiting starts in strawberry normally after 65-70 days after planting. but in Odisha fruiting starts early due to other reasons. When 1/2th   to 1/4th  of skin color is developed it is picked from the plant for the local market and for export purpose. The average yield in tropical and subtropical areas is 300 to 500 grams of fruits per plant. We can expect an average yield of 10-12 tons /acre of Strawberry using 22000 to 25000 runners. The average price of strawberry per kg is around 100 to 150 rupees in the local market.

The booking of Planting Material of Strawberry will start from June to August.

Interested farmers can contact us for all guidance of Strawberry farming and it’s Planting Material.

Note: As the cultivation will start from October our dear farmers are requested to book the planting material by advance payment.

Any further inquiries about Strawberry cultivation in Odisha, and Uttar-Pradesh you can contact.

1. Abhilash Padhan: Odisha, (Mob:8984240590)
2. Dr.Sandeep Singh: UttarPradesh (Mob:8543826318)