Winter Down,Chema Rosa,Sweet Sensation, seedlings of strawberry available for cultivation in plain areas of India during the winter season.
Planting
5.4.1 Planting Material
Strawberry is commercially propagated by runner plants. For large scale propagation of virus free plants, tissue culture is widely used.
5.4.2 Planting Season
The ideal time of planting runners or crowns in plain areas is September-October. If the planting is done too early, plants lack vigour and result in low yield and quality of fruits. If planted very late, runners develop in March and crops are light.
Runners are uprooted from nursery, made into bundles and planted in the field. These can be kept in cold storage before transplanting.
The soil should be frequently irrigated to reduce water stress in the leaf. Defoliation suppresses the plant growth, delays fruiting and reduces yield & quality.
5.4.3 Spacing
Planting distance varies according to variety & type of land. A spacing of 30 cm. x 60 cm. is usually followed. In the model scheme, a spacing of 30 cm. x 30 cm. with a population of 22,000 plants per acre has been considered which was commonly observed in areas covered during a field study.
5.5 Nutrition
A fertilizer dose of 25-50 tonnes farmyard manure, 75-100 kg. N, 40-120 kg. P2O5, 40-80 kg. K2O/ha. may be applied according to soil type and variety planted.
5.6 Irrigation
Strawberry being a shallow-rooted plant requires more frequent but less amount of water in each irrigation. Excessive irrigation results in growth of leaves and stolons at the expense of fruits & flowers and also increases the incidence of Botrytis rot.
Irrigation is applied in furrows between the rows. Trickle and sprinkler irrigation systems are becoming popular nowadays. In case of trickle irrigation, 30% water and energy are saved.
5.7 Training
Four different types of training systems viz. matted row, spaced row, hill and plastic mulch are used to train the strawberry plants. Usually matted row system is followed in India.
5.8 Intercultural Operations
The field is kept weed free during the first season by harrowing & ploughing, applying herbicides or plastic sheet. Inter-cultural practices are continued till the straw mulch is applied.
5.9 Growth regulatorsApplication of GA3 (50 ppm.) sprayed four days after flowering and maleic hydrazide (0.1-0.3%) sprayed after flowering increases the yield by 31-41%. Morphactin (@ 50 ppm.) improves the fruit size.5.10 Plant Protection Measures5.10.1 Insect PestsWhite grubs, cutworms and hairy caterpillars attack the crop. Areas where strawberries are to be planted should be free from white grubs and cutworms. Application of endosulfan (0.05%) or malathion (0.05%) on appearance of caterpillars has been found to be effective in most cases. 5.10.2 Diseases
Main diseases reported are leaf spot and grey mould. Application of carbendazim / thiophanate methyl has been found to be effective in most cases.
5.10.3 Disorders
Albinism (lack of fruit colour during ripening) is a physiological disorder in strawberry. It is probably caused by certain climatic conditions and extremes in nutrition. Fruits remain irregularly pink or even totally white and sometimes swollen. They have acid taste and become less firm. Albino fruits are often damaged during harvesting and are susceptible to Botrytis infection and decay during storage.
5.11 Harvesting and Yield
Strawberries are generally harvested when half to three fourths of skin develops colour. Depending on the weather conditions, picking is usually done on every second or third day usually in the morning hours. Strawberries are harvested in small trays or baskets. They should be kept in a shady place to avoid damage due to excessive heat in the open field.
Plants start bearing in second year. An average yield of 45-100 q./ha. is obtained from a strawberry orchard. However, an average yield of 175-300 q./ha. may be taken from a well managed orchard.
6. POST HARVEST MANAGEMENT
6.1 Grading
Fruits are graded on the basis of their weight, size and colour.
6.2 Storage
Fruits can be stored in cold storage at 320C upto 10 days. For distant marketing, strawberries should be pre-cooled at 40C within 2 hrs. of harvesting and kept at the same temperature. After pre-cooling, they are shipped in refrigerated vans.
6.3 Packing
Packing is done according to the grades for long distance markets. Fruits of good quality are packed in perforated cardboard cartons with paper cuttings as cushioning material. Fruits of lower grades are packed in baskets.
6.4 Transportation
Road transport by trucks/lorries is the most convenient mode of transport due to easy approach from orchards to the market.
6.5 Marketing
Majority of the growers sell their produce either through trade agents at village level or commission agents at the market.
TECHNOLOGY SOURCES
Major sources for technology:
(i) Dr. Yashwant Singh Parmar University of Horticulture & Forestry, Solan, Nauni-173230, Himachal Pradesh.
(ii) Directorate of Horticulture, Shivajinagar, Pune, Maharashtra-560003.
ECONOMICS OF A ONE ACRE MODEL
8.1 High quality commercial cultivation of crop by using high quality planting material and drip irrigation leads to multiple benefits viz.
Synchronized growth, flowering and harvesting;
Reduction in variation of off-type and non-fruit plants;
Improved fruit quality;
Costs & Returns
8.2 A one acre plantation of the crop is a viable proposition. Project cost of the model, along with the basis for costing are exhibited in Annexures I & II. A summary of the project cost is given in the table below.
Cost Components of a One Acre Model Strawberry Plantation
