Horticulture – Page 2 – Abhinava Krishi

Posted on 8 April, 20218 April, 2021 by

Scope of fruit and vegetable carving : An innovative pathway towards generating employment in urban horticulture sector

**Pic.1# Original carving on different fruits and vegetables done by Mr. Sai Teja on a horticulture exhibition in the year 2015.**

Fruit carving is the art of sculpting fruit, a very common technique in Europe and Asian countries, and particularly popular in Thailand, China and Japan. Carving art on the fruits and vegetables has become the sign of attraction for the guests attending the parties. There are many fruits that can be used in this process; the most popular one that artists use are watermelons, papayas, muskmelons, pineapples etc.

Regardless of its origins, vegetable carving is flaunted in many different Asian restaurants, cruises, hotels, and other various places. In the mid-20th century, the art of vegetable carving began to grow outside Asia. Since then, other cultures have slowly come to appreciate the beauty and culture associated with the practice. Today, one can marvel at vegetable carving throughout the world.

Pic.2#Carving on different fruits and vegetable done by Mr.Sai Teja.

Irrespective of the occasion and place, fruit and vegetable carvings find a prominence. They are not easy to make and are a testimony to the skills and talents of the artisans carving it. In most cases, these specialized artisans have taken formal training from culinary institutes and this gives them a hold on the basic techniques. The rest is up to their imagination and practice.

Artisans carve fruits and vegetables about three hours before the event starts and they leave it in cold water for the carvings to set. The tools they need to carve include cutting board, small and medium sized knives with sharp edges, a sharp peeler with preferably an oval edge, bells pins, tooth picks and dry sticks used to represent the stem of flowers. With these tools, the artisan is all set to run his or her imagination wild and come up with a variety of flowers, baskets, insects, birds, animals, toys and just about anything that is appropriate for the occasion.

Pic.3# A typical art of a boat carved out of a single piece of Pumpkin by Mr. Sai Teja

Other than restaurants, one can see carvings done by artisans in all major food festivals today. In some cultures, fruit and vegetable carvings are displayed in formal gatherings and in private parties. In India, for example, one can see fruit and vegetable carvings displayed in many wedding halls just before guests enter the dining area. The idea behind such display is not only to show the skills of the artisans, but also to entice guests to enter the dining hall. Some chefs believe that a visual display of food triggers taste buds and helps guests to better relish their food. For these reasons, it is common to find different carvings on the entrance of dining halls in Indian weddings.

Present scope and future prospects of carving fruits and vegetables

The demand for fruit and vegetable carving is increasing day by day as the people are looking towards alternatives that are livelier and more attractive to decorate in the functions. The abundance of fruits and vegetables throughout the year even in the off-season has been achieved due to advanced horticultural techniques which overcome the problem of non-availability of raw materials for carving. There are very less artisans who are experienced in this art and there is lot of scope in training through workshops and symposiums.

pic.4# A beautiful design of Rose flowers in a Pot carved out from a single piece of Watermelon by Mr. Sai Teja

Once fruit carvers have mastered the techniques past the intermediate stage and become professionals, they can price their services to restaurants, professional caterers, hotels and resorts. On a smaller scale, fruit carvers can present a dish with decorative garnishing to add an aesthetically pleasing experience to their viewers. Rural women, self-help groups, FPO(Farmer Producer Organizations) can be trained with the art of fruit and vegetable carvings to propagate the skill in this field which helps them to generate income as an association. Several food carving competitions are being held across the world which brings the artists great reputation and opportunities to work with some of the biggest events, restaurants and ceremonies. The art of carving fruits and vegetables is eternal and has a never-ending demand. In short, when you see a carved fruit or vegetables the next time, spend a few minutes to admire its beauty and intricacy. It will not only give you a glimpse into the culture, but will also make the artisan happy.

pic.5# A beautiful peacock design carved out of a single piece of watermelon by Mr.Sai Teja

Limitations

The major obstacles of fruits and vegetable carvings include the lack of quality raw materials, pattern designers, transmission of knowledge and creating added value. Quality fresh fruits and vegetables are needed so that the finished carvings can be kept and displayed longer which also depends on the atmosphere and time period where the carvings will be displayed. Fruits and vegetable engravers lack experience and consistency in their art forms where there must be a consistent balance in the lines, patterns, shapes, weight, color and texture. The lack of understanding these factors result in underdeveloped carvings and development of patterns. The limited time available to prepare the carvings has limited the designs and patterns for each venue. The transmission of knowledge between artisans is still limited due to the closure and unwilling transfer of knowledge from senior artisans. The limited transfer of knowledge and skills due to competing attitudes of modern society has led to in-efficient development of fruit and vegetable carvings and lack of apprentices.

References:

https://asian-recipe.com/methods/fruit-vegetable-carving

Panprom, S., Somtrakool, K., & Tidpad, P. (2013). Fruits and Vegetable Carving: Development of Carving Patterns for Banquets. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(9), 697.

https://howandwhat.net/a-brief-introduction-to-fruit-and-vegetable-carving/

https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/japanese-thai-food-carving-instagram/index.html

For more information about fruit and vegetable carvings you can contact our author.

Author Details:

Sai Teja

M.Sc (Agronomy)

ASSAM AGRICULTURE UNIVERSITY,ASSAM,INDIA

Email@kandapu.saiteja.amj19@aau.ac.in

Mob:91-7032865674

Posted on 20 March, 202120 March, 2021 by

Advances in hybrid seed production in solanaceous crops

What is Hybrid ?

Hybrid is first generation (F1) from crosses between two purelines, inbreds, open pollinated varieties, clones or other populations that are genetically dissimilar.

Types of Hybrids :

Single cross hybrid: Cross between two unrelated inbred lines (A × B)
Double cross hybrid: (A×B) x (C×D)
Three way hybrid: (A × B) × C
Top cross hybrid: Inbred is crossed with an open-pollinated variety

Hybrid Seed Production Systems :

1 line system: Apomixis
2 line system: Genetic male sterility (GMS) and Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)
3 line system: Cytoplasmic-genetic male sterility (CGMS)

History of Hybrid seed Production in India (In Vegetables)

In 1973, IAHSC released first tomato (Karnataka) and Capsicum (Bharat) hybrids for commercial cultivation.
Since 1975, intensive research work has been started by both public and private sectors for exploitation of hybrid vigor in various vegetables crops.

Characteristics of the Solanaceae

Flower: small to medium & perfect
Fruit: berry with many seeds.
Pollination: Self- or often cross-pollinated

Reasons for commercial exploitation of Solanaceous hybrids

Sufficiently medium flowers facilitates easy emasculation & pollination.
Availability of pollen in abundance.
Large number of seeds obtained per pollination/cross.
Manifestation of heterosis for yield & its components.
The highly profitable prices obtained from the produce.
Good response of F₁ to better cultural practices, inputs & environment.

Steps for Hybrid Development

Development of Inbred lines
Testing the combining ability

a) General Combining Ability

b) Specific Combining Ability

Production of F₁ hybrid seed

Hybrid Seed Production Techniques in Solanaceous crops:

Emasculation: Can be performed at the start of flowering, about 55-65 days after sowing.

Steps in Hybrid Seed Production:

Study done at IARI using male sterile & male fertile lines in Tomato:

Time saved by male sterile line was 63%.
Average fruit set by using male sterile line was 79.35%.
Average fruit set using male fertile line was 65.40%.
Hybrid seed cost by using male sterile line per kg was Rs. 466/-
Hybrid seed cost by using male fertile line per kg was Rs. 3691/-

Hybrids released in tomato by private & public sectors:

Name of Hybrid Variety	Institute/Company
Rupali	Indo-American Hybrid Seeds Co.
Amogh	Namdhari Seeds Pvt.Ltd. Bangalore
Pusa Hybrid-1	IARI, New Delhi
Pusa Hybrid-2	IARI, New Delhi
Pusa Hybrid-4, Pusa Hybrid-8,	IARI, New Delhi
Arka Shreshta, Arka Rakshak	IIHR, Bangalore
ArkaVardan, Arka Samrat	IIHR, Bangalore
Arka Vishal, Arka Ananya	IIHR, Bangalore
Solan Sindhur, Solan Garima, Solan Sagun	UHF, Nauni, Solan

Table no.1 #Hybrids released in tomato by private & public sectors in India

F₁ Hybrids in Brinjal:

Public Sector Variety Name

GAU (Anand) : ABH-1(SR), ABH-2(SR)

IARI (New Delhi) : Pusa Hybrid-5, Pusa Hybrid-6, Pusa Hybrid-9

IIHR (Banglore) : Arka Navneet, Arka Aanand

NDUAT (Faizabad) : NDBH-1, NDBH-6

GBPUA&T : Pant Hybrid 1

Private Sector Variety Name

Ankur : ARBH-201, AHB-2, AHB-4

Indo-American : Suphal

MAHYCO : MHB-1, MHB-2, MHB-10, MHB-11, MHB-56

Sumex ` : Sumex 9, Sumex 19

Sungrow : Kanhaya, Navkiran

Century : Nisha, Vardaan, Shiva

F₁ Hybrids in Chilli

Public Sector Variety Name

PAU (Ludhiana) : CH-1, CH-3

IIHR : Arka Suphal, Arka Meghana, Arka Sweta, Arka Harita

Private Sector Variety Name

Hung Nong : Delhi Hot, Hot Green, Skyline

Mahyco : Tejaswini

Sandoj : Agni

Practical tips for hybrid seed production in Solanaceous vegetables:

Fermentation method of seed extraction gives better seed recovery, however acid and alkali extraction can be employed where temperature is too low.
Planting ratio of male to female lines in hybrid seed production plot of brinjal can be increased to 1:10
Axial flow vegetable seed extractor can be used economically in brinjal
Minimum isolation distance of 225 m in chilli is safe for hybrid seed production under north Indian conditions.
Fully ripe fruits should be used for seed extraction in chilli.
Seed production cost can be reduced by using male sterility system or androcides in all these crops.

Conclusion:

Hybrid seed production starts very early but still its coverage is not satisfactory.
It should be popularize among rural masses not only for increasing production but also it help to give employment to rural youth and women in particular.
Standardization of research at molecular level.
Utilization of transgenic technology.

Reference:

Kanwar et al ,2014..Advances in Quality Seed Production of Vegetable Crops, Publisher: Department of Vegetable Science Dr Y S Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry Nauni -173 230 Solan, Himachal Pradesh, pp.19-37.

Nascimento et al., 2003. Ciencia e Agrotecnologia, 27 (Especial): 1662-671.

R.T. Opeña, J.T. Chen, T. Kalb and P. Hanson October 2001 Hybrid Seed Production in Tomato AVRDC pub # 01-527.

Tewari G., Ram, R. N. and Singh A (2018). Effect of plant base digestive enzyme ‘Papain’ on growth, survival and behavioural response of Cyprinus carpio. International Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Studies: 6(3): 210-214.

Sushma Sharma ,Ph.D. Scholar, Department of Seed Science and Technology CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar: VOL. NO. XVII, ISSUE NO. 03

Author Details:

Shaik Moulana

Research Associate, Banana Research Station,

Dr.YSR Horticulture university, Pulivendula, YSR Kadapa (Dist.), Andhra Pradesh-516390

Email: moulana1995@gmail.com

Posted on 19 January, 202119 January, 2021 by

Facilitating Rural Farmers through Perishable Cargo Centre: An initiative by ITC

***Pic #1.Tomatoes and Capsicum stored inside Perishable Cargo Centre at Varanasi,UP.***

INTRODUCTION

In India Agriculture and allied sector is the largest source of livelihoods. 70 percent of its rural households still depend primarily on agriculture for their livelihood, with 82 percent of farmers being small and marginal. The rural communities lack electricity and thus face serious problems of storage and preservation during harvesting periods, particularly, at seasons of increased yields. Huge losses can result from poor storage of fruits and vegetables. The level of losses depends on the storage structure, method of storage and the storage environment. Due to the high perishable nature about 35% of fruits and vegetables are lost their fresh forms in storage in the rural areas.

Importance of fruits and vegetables in human diet is well recognized. Man can’t live on cereals. Fruit and vegetables are essential for balance diet and good health. Nutritionists advocate 90 g of fruits and 360 g vegetable per capita per day in addition to cereals, pulse, egg etc. Fruits and vegetable are good source of vitamins and minerals without which human body cannot maintain proper health and develop resistance to disease. They also contain pectin, cellulose which stimulates intestinal activities and energy giving substances like oils, fats, and proteins. Many fruits have medical purpose. Proper food storage helps maintain food quality by retaining flavor, color, texture and nutrients, while reducing the chance of contracting a food-borne illness.

What is the Problem:

Poor storage of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables by the rural farmers have resulted in huge losses due to lack of knowledge of useful information on the methods of preservation and storing these perishable agricultural produce. It is astonishing that the losses in fruits and vegetables have been quantified as 30-35% accounting for an economic drain of Rs 2.40 lakh crore annually.

Fruits and Vegetables Losses among the major producing state:

Rank	State	Total Loss (Rs. Crore)
1	Maharashtra	10100
2	Andhra Pradesh	5633
3	Tamil Nadu	8170
4	Gujarat	11398
5	Karnataka	7415
6	Uttar Pradesh	10312
7	Bihar	10744
8	Madhya Pradesh	5332
9	West Bengal	13657
	All India	212552

#Source : ASSOCHAM Report, May,

Present status of India’s cold chain storage sector:

As per available information, there are 8186 number of cold storages with capacity of 374.25 Lakh MT is available in the country for storing perishable horticulture produce like fruits and vegetables. In their report on cold storage infrastructure in India, Emerson Climate Technologies estimate that in 2012, 6300 cold storage facilities were installed in India with a total space of 30.11 million metric tons. The report further notes that this number is required to double if current levels of food wastages are not to increase further. Also intra-country differences with regards to cold storage capacity stand out: 60%, i.e. 10.187 metric tons, of cold storage space is located in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat and Punjab alone.

Whereas the disparity between supply and demand for cold storage is at 20% in Uttar Pradesh, this gap amounts to staggering 97% in Tamil Nadu, where in 2010 merely 0.0239 million metric tons of cold storage had been installed. The National Horticulture Board estimates that investments in the dimension of about INR 550.74 billion till 2015/16 are required to keep up with growing vegetable and fruit production of vegetables. Currently, 95% of total cold storage capacity in India is in the hand of private players. Due to the ubiquitous lack of cold storage, small-scale farmers are eager to sell their produce as close as possible after the time of harvest since the market value of vegetables decreases by 25% to 40% daily. A report by the World bank states that 10% of this loss occurs in farmer’s markets driving down prices in times of excess supply and in the worst case leads to price crashes resulting in prices that do neither cover production, harvesting or transportation cost.

Perishable Cargo Centre by ITC : A gift to the rural farmers of India

The Perishable Cargo Centre initiative by ITC for availing cold storage facility is a wonderful gift for farmers who can store their extra produce and can sell any time when they get good prices for their commodity. By the help of cold storage farmers can avoid the losses and get higher net return by selling their produce in the market .

Advantage of Perishable Cargo Centre : Storage of fresh vegetables

Fresh leafy vegetables can be kept fresh in storage for 4-6 days when sprinkled with water and covered with polythene sheet. In cool weather, the root of the fresh leafy vegetables were cut off and washed off with clean water. Test conducted with fresh tomatoes reveals that the system could store tomatoes for 25 days at average temperature and relative humidity between 14-20°C and 82-98% respectively. The cooling efficiency achieved with the storage system ranges between 93-98% and a temperature drop of 8^oC below ambient was achieved.

How Farmer’s are getting higher return through availing the benifit from Perishable Cargo Centre

A flower grower from Varanasi named as Sri Amit Singh Patel(50) who used to grow marigold he stored his flowers for 1 week in diwali and sold his flowers on diwali date. Normally he was selling his one garland of marigold in 7-8 rupees. But on diwali day he sold the same garland in 25-30 rupees and earned upto 17 rupees extra on an average. In another case one more farmer who stored his pea in cold store when it was 10 Rs /kg which was the price before one week where as after one week he was able to sold the same pea at 17 Rs / kg.

Conclusion:

Our farmers of different parts of India mostly produce specific kinds of vegetables in bulk at shot time and mostly suffers from its distress sell due to lack of storage facility. From the above case studies it was found that the Perishable Cargo Centre by ITC is helping our farmers by solving the major issue of preventing the distress sell .

Rishi Kant Yadav

mob:9793064466

Center Incharge (Perishable Cargo Center – ITC, Varanasi,UP)

M.Sc.(Vegetable Science) Horticulture,

SHUATS, Allahabad, India

Posted on 20 November, 202022 November, 2020 by

Different Processed Food Products from Palmyrah Palm :A fruit tree with high genetic diversity

***Pic.1# A view of Palmyrah Palm Tree***

Palmyrah (Borassus flavallifer) palm is perhaps the most under-utilized and backline fruit among those belonging to the ‘Palm family’. The fruit is abundantly available in the country side areas but couldn’t sustain in the regular fruit markets, unlike the other fruits of the family palmae such as the coconut, arecanut, date palm, etc. Palmyrah palm, popularly known as “Toddy palm” is a drupe containing 2n =36 number of chromosome. The toddy palm fruits are formed in regular clusters developed into big roundish balls, weighing about an average weight of 2 kg. The trees are exceptionally taller which creates hindrance to the manual harvesters and also blemishes the senescent fruits dropped from the plants. Usually the people dwelling in tribal localities or semi-urban areas exploit great privileges out from the palm products frequently throughout the year for domestic consumption as well as small sales.

The palm fruit has a fascinating characteristic of having acquired multiple edible forms of the fruit with correspondence to its developing stages. All of them are uniquely palatable and differ in both physical forms and textures from one another. Apart from the raw consumption, Palmyrah fruit is a huge contributor of extensively prepared sugar-based products such as Neera (a delicious drink), palm jaggery, palm sugar, palm candy, etc., which are exceptionally sweet in taste with distinct flavors.

***Pic.2# (A fully Mature and Ripened Fruit of Palmyrah Palm,Deogarh,Odisha)***

At tender stage, toddy palm fruits are light green in color and shiny from the periphery. The fruit exocarp gradually turns black as it ripens with its stalk end covered with yellowish green caps of about 5 to 8 in numbers. The unripe matured fruits, if cut into halves, the translucent jelly-like lobes filled inside sockets, usually three in number in a single fruit is revealed. These are nothing but the developed embryo and endosperms of the fruit which is composed of nearly 80% water along with sugar and some vital mineral compounds. This is perhaps the reason behind the fruit acquired the name of “Ice- apple” in many regions. The succulent locules are covered with a thin layer of white testa that should be removed off while consuming or else it imparts a bitter taste to the fruit. In course of development of the fruit, the icy succulent locules acquire a milky white cork-like spongy texture. However, the size of the locules is retained even after the development. A hard woody endocarp is formed at this stage that surrounds the succulent parts that are consumed at the last stage.

Moreover, the mesocarp of the fruit gets filled with thick juicy golden yellow sap having distinct flavor and aroma, thus rendering the fruit to have attained its utmost maturity. There is a simultaneous conversion of the epicarp or rind from light green to orange and eventually into dark brown or black colour. This is the significant stage where toddy palm encounters the highest exploitation and preferably it is so called as well. Most often, the ripen fruits are not harvested and left for senescence. The villagers believe that the fruit imparts better taste when drops naturally. The statement being a myth is refuted by the fact that the fruit must have obtained cent percent assured maturity along with highest sugar and pulp with maximum softness after its natural falling.

***Pic.3# Palm Batter prepared from Ripened Fruit Pulp mix with Rice.***

Unfortunately, the fully ripened fruits generally get ruptured on striking the ground from a larger height. However, these are later on picked up randomly by the local people and carried to their homes for pulp extraction. In fact, this is actually the material that the consumers awaited for. Irrespective of its demand in the urban markets, the toddy pulp seems to be no less worthy than a gold fluid to the local regular exploiters. Therefore, the golden pulp from toddy, after extraction from its bulky fibres is probably utilized in various ways. A large portion of the pulp is cooked for the manufacture of jaggery and sugar crystals and the rest is used in preparation of home-made stuffs like buns, cakes and sweets along with rice-flour or corn-flour as supplements. Due to high sugar content in the fruit pulp itself, usually lesser amounts of the same is involved from external source during the process of preparation. Popular food recipes of cakes, locally called as “Pitha” are prepared out of toddy palm pulp, made into a batter along with the use of grated coconut stuffing followed by steaming or deep frying.

**Pic.4# Different kinds of Pitha prepared from Pulp of Palmyrah Palm (Ripened Fruit Pulp)**

Right after extraction of the pulp, the hard kernels i.e. the woody endocarps with a blanket of ciliary fibers is left out which is usually washed and sun-dried for about 15 to 25 days rather than being disposed of. Interestingly, this kernel holds in the soft endosperm which is prominently observed when the hard kernel is spitted into halves after the excessive moisture is lost out. This again turns out to be another edible matter which can be assumed as the non-emerged sprouts of the seed and is also considered as the store house of large number of vital nutrients. The soft corky texture, along with milky white color and sweet pleasant taste makes it a perfect choice for fruit lovers. This palm endosperm is an essential component of fruit salads and custards.

*Pic.4#Edible soft endosperm inside hard Kernels*(Jajpur, Odisha)

Palmyrah palm is perhaps the only fruit having more number of processed food recipes made out of it in comparision to its direct consumption. Existence of the strong flavor and aroma makes the fruit inelegant for direct consumption. However, sweet lovers can resist with few slices of it. Although, facts pertaining to the stages and forms of consumption of the fruit are usually observed to be non-descriptive in texts and encyclopedias, it is as significant as other aspects of it, for the reason being it carries vast comprehensive touches on the peculiar stages of development, their broad utility and consumers’ acceptance of the fruit.

Bimal Prabhat Dash

Master in Horticulture, Fruit Science

bimaldash.ar@gmail.com

Posted on 29 October, 202014 November, 2020 by — Leave a comment

Strawberry cultivation for the farmers of Odisha and Chattishgarh

**pic.#1 Strawberry cultivation using black polythene mulching.**

Strawberry (Fragaria annanasa Dutch) is an important temperate as well as sub-tropical fruit crop and can be commercially grown in states like Odisha and Chhattisgarh with subtropical climatic condition. The fresh ripe fruits of strawberry with 98% edible portion are rich source of Vitamin C and iron making it a very nutritious fruit. Apart from fresh consumption, these fruits can also be processed into various value-added products like canned strawberry, jam, jelly, ice-cream, wine and other soft drinks. Due to its increasing demand in urban India, its potential area of cultivation is on a hike in plains and southern hills of India. In India it is mostly grown in Haryana, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Bihar. As per NHB data 2016-17, Haryana is having highest area and production of strawberry cultivation in India followed by Mizoram and Meghalaya. But Odisha and Chhattisgarh are the states having great potential for growing such an export oriented and high value fruit crop provided by proper scientific package and practices which are given below. All parts of these two states mostly hilly areas of Odisha (Kandhamal, Koraput, Eastern ghats and other hills) and Chhattisgarh (Ambikapur, Bastar) are very much suitable for cultivation of strawberry.

PACKAGE AND PRACTICES

Climate and Soil:

A temperate to sub-tropical climate is suitable for strawberry cultivation, requiring a temperature range of 15-25^oC for better growth of the plants. Although strawberry grows well under temperate climate but some cultivars are also suitable for growing under sub-tropical climate. Daylight period of 12 hr or less and moderate temperature are important for flower-bud formation. Sandy loam soil with a pH range of 5.7-6.5 is suitable for this cultivation.

Suitable varieties:

Winter Down and Cheema Rosa is the most suitable cultivar of strawberry under the agroclimatic conditions of Odisha and Chattisgarh where as other varieties such as Fortuna, Florida Beauty, Festival, , Sweet Charlie, Sweet Sensation, R-1, R-2, Nabila are some of the suitable varieties can be grown in Odisha and Chhattisgarh under both open field as well as protected cultivation.

Planting material:

Strawberry is commercially propagated by runner plants. For large scale cultivation tissue culture plants can be used. Planting material requirement of strawberry is 20-25 thousands per acre.

Land preparation and Planting:

Soil is ploughed repeatedly during summer to make soil friable followed by removal of weeds and stubbles. Soil fumigation with a mixture of methyl bromide and chloropicrin helps to increase root system, reduce fertilizer requirement and control the weeds. In the climate of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, its commercial cultivation is done in the month of September to March in the open field condition, whereas inside the protected structure it can be grown round the year except from April to July. Within this period, crop can be harvested 5-6 times.

A spacing of 30 cm x 60 cm or 30 cm x 30 cm with a population of 20,000 to 22,000 plants per acre can be adopted. Planting can be done in two rows or three rows on a 1 m wide, 30-35cm raised bed with 90-120 cm spacing between beds. The raised beds are fitted with drip lines for irrigation and covered with polythene or straw mulch. Mulching is very much essential as it conserves the soil moisture, prevents any weed growth ultimately reducing labour cost for weeding and prevents the fruits from touching the ground and getting damaged.

Irrigation and Fertiliser dose:

Strawberry being a shallow-rooted plant requires more frequent but less amount of water in irrigation. Excessive irrigation can lead to growth of leaves and stolon at the expense of fruits & flowers and also increases the incidence of Botrytis rot.

A fertilizer dose of 25-50 tonnes farmyard manure, 75-100 kg N, 40-120 kg P₂O₅ and 40-80 kg K₂O per ha can be applied according to soil type and variety planted.

Flowering and Fruiting:

Flowering occurs at 40-60 days after planting. Gibberellic acid (GA) @ 30-50 mgL^-1 is sprayed 4 days after flowering along with Malic hydrazide@ 0.01-0.03% during flowering for better fruit growth and increase in yield by 31-41%. Morphactin@ 50 mgL^-1 increases the fruit size. Fruiting comes after 60-70 days of planting and takes about 20-22 days for physiological maturity. Albinism (lack of fruit colour during ripening) is a physiological disorder in strawberry where fruits remain irregularly pink or even totally white and sometimes swollen, less firm having acid taste. This is very rare in this climatic condition.

Harvesting and Yield:

Strawberries are generally harvested at a stage of >75% skin colour change (for distant market) and 90% colour change (for local market) from apex to the base of the fruit. Picking is done along with the stalk 1-2 inches from the calyx and collected in small trays or baskets usually in the early morning hours on every second or third day. Fruits should be kept in a shady place to avoid damage due to excessive heat in the open field and pre-cooled at 4^oC within 2 hr of harvesting. After pre-cooling they can be shipped in refrigerated vans for storage or to distant market. Fresh fruits can be stored in cold storage at 0-2^oC and up to 7 days. 90-95% optimum humidity is maintained to prevent water loss and avoid shrivelling. Don’t wash the berries until just before eating or preserving. Average fruit yield is 700-1000 g per plant.

Marketing:

The fruits can be sold in local as well as national and international market in a profitable price. Fruits are washed properly and graded as per their weight, size and colour. For long distance markets fruits are packed in small plastic packets of 200-300g capacity. These fruits generally fetch a market price of Rs. 150-200 per kg in Indian markets.

We offer support in providing planting materials and marketing of the produce except any logistic supports. This is prepared after thorough analysis of research data from different research scholars of India.

References: