Strawberry (Fragaria vesca) is an important fruit crop of India and its commercial production is possible in temperate and sub-tropical areas of the country.Strawberry is cultivated in Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and Rajasthan. Sub-tropical areas in Jammu have also the potential to grow the crop under irrigated condition.Strawberry is rich in Vitamin C and iron. Some varieties viz. Olympus, Hood & Shuksan having high flavor and bright red color are suitable for ice-cream making. Other varieties like Midway, Midland, Cardinal, Hood, Redchief and Beauty, ideal, Premier, Red cost, Local Jeolikot, Dilpasand, Bangalore, Florida 90, Katrain Sweet, Pusa Early Dwarf & Blakemore for processing. Strawberries grow well under temperate climate. Some cultivars can be grown in sub-tropical climate.Emphasizing upon the importance of Strawberry in Lucknow region, a one day “Training Programme on Strawberry Cultivation” was organized by Department of Agriculture, Integral Institute of Agricultural Science & Technology (IIAST), Integral University, Lucknow.
Dr. Md. Abu Nayyer, Associate Professor, Department of Agriculture, IIAST, Integral University briefed about “Strawberry Production”. Anupam kumar, PhD scholar and lab instructor, IIAST, illustrated students about the areas where a combination of short days with warm or mild temperatures made it possible to produce high yields of Strawberry over a long season.The climate and soil in which the plantation thrives well are the special horticultural practices for caring young strawberry plants. He also stated that Strawberries are highly perishable and hence a great deal of care in harvesting and handling as well as its marketing also requires it to be organised carefully. The most notable achievement has been to transform the crop from a plant with a short season of production and a modest yield of small, soft berries to a highly productive plant capable of cropping over a long period with large, firm berries suitable for shipping over long distances.
Mr. Anupam Singh, Lab Instructor, Department of Agriculture, IIAST, Integral University emphasized on the Marketing of Strawberry cultivation. Usually the fruit is picked in the early morning and sent to the market in the afternoon of the same day or is picked in the late afternoon, stored overnight in a cool place, and sent to market the following morning. Since fruit is highly perishable, it is packed in flat shallow containers of various types (cardboard, bamboo, paper trays etc.) with one or two layers of fruits. Harvesting should be done early in the morning in dry conditions.
The training programme was attended by 30 students of B.Sc. (Hons.) Agriculture and M.Sc. Horticulture Fruit Science, Department of Agriculture, IIAST, Integral University, Lucknow. The training programme ended with concluding notes by Prof. (Dr.) Mohd. Haris Siddiqui, Dean, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Technology and Dr. Saba Siddiqui, Head, Department of Agriculture,IIAST, Integral University for providing the opportunity and other logistics to support such informative programmes.
Glimpses of the training program