Trending now: Strawberry fields in UP
Better rates, increasing demand, favourable climate make the fruit attractive for growers in state
LUCKNOW/VARANASI: Uttar Pradesh, especially the western region, Bundelkhand and even the eastern flank, is witnessing a strawberry revolution of sorts, say experts and fruit growers.
Fuelled by attractive prices, increasing demand and shorter duration of cropping, the small, delicate fruiting plant that is usually grown in colder regions of the world has become the first choice for several commercial farmers in the state in the last few years, experts say.
The result: The fruit is now cultivated in over two dozen districts of the state, even in the harsh terrain of the droughtprone Bundelkhand region.
Big strawberry farmers in the state, with an average cropping area of one acre each are located in west UP districts. They sell their produce either directly or via middlemen to markets in Delhi.
Pioneering effort
Take the case of Arif Khan, whose story coincides with the boom in strawberry farming in Uttar Pradesh in the last five years.
He had to quit his job as a sales manager in Delhi in 2015 and return to his village in western Uttar Pradesh’s Shamli district to help his ailing father manage the family’s sugarcane farms.
In October the same year, Khan brought 500 saplings of strawberry from Uttarakhand nearby and planted them in the field near the house.
The saplings grew well in the Shamli weather and gave profits to Arif. Five years later, Arif is one of the leading producers of strawberry in west UP with a turnover of around Rs 8 lakh, triple of what his father earned from the sugarcane crop.
The small strawberry farmers in Bundelkhand and other parts of the state sell the produce to big cities nearby like Lucknow, Kanpur, Prayagaraj etc.
According to experts, strawberry farming first started on a very small scale in Saharanpur and Pilibhit districts of western UP almost two decades ago. It was later taken up by other farmers who, otherwise, grew tomatoes in polyhouses.
Shiv Kumar Kushwaha, a tomato farmer in Barabanki in central UP, was the first to introduce strawberry farming in the district.
“I first planted strawberry in a small area in my polyhouse in 2010. But I began cultivating it in the open from next year which resulted in better yield,” he says.
Introduction of the tissue culture technique, which made saplings cheaper, helped in the spread of strawberry cultivation in recent years.
SOIL CONDITIONS
“Strawberry requires porous soil with a very low requirement of water and temperatures between 12 and 18 degree Celsius for fruiting. Both these conditions are easily met in most parts of the state in winter,” says Dileep Kumar, a commercial farming expert of Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
Most strawberry farmers invest in the drip irrigation system, which requires an easy set-up and reduces the cost of water to over 30%.
“Around 22,000 saplings can be planted in an acre of land and give a yield of around 20,000 kg of strawberry. The profit margin can vary from 30 to 45% based on the market,” says Kumar.
SEASONAL FRUIT
Strawberry saplings are cultivated between mid-September and mid-October on mounds. The foliage is laid on plastic to avoid contact with the soil. The harvest begins in early January and continues till early March. The popularity of strawberry, which was considered an exotic fruit, has grown over the last decade with a rise in food trends.
Experts believe that improvement in cold storage facilities can help take the produce to markets in south India, giving them better profits.
“Strawberry is very perishable with a short shelf-life. Because of this, the farmers are forced to sell them in nearby markets. If a cold transport chain is developed in UP, these farmers could sell their produce to markets in distant states,” says Muneem Ahmed, a wholesale fruit vendor in west UP.
THE JHANSI WONDER: FROM ROOFTOP TO 1.5 ACRE FARM
Jhansi’s Gurleen Chawla, 23, a law graduate from a prestigious Pune law college, started experimenting with strawberry farming after she returned to her hometown in the water-scarce Bundelkhand region during the Covid-19 pandemic and found there were no strawberries there.
On an experimental basis, she started growing strawberries on the terrace of her home in a coco peat bag after getting seedlings couriered by a nursery in Pune. Her venture has now gone from the rooftop to a 1.5-acre farm.
Along with strawberries, she grows broccoli, avocado, cabbage, cauliflower, tomato and other vegetables using organic manure on her farm.
Prime Minister Narendra
Modi highlighted Gurleen’s efforts in his monthly radio programme Mann Ki Baat on January 31, his first radio address of the year 2021.
BUNDELKHAND BOARD DOES ITS BIT
The Bundelkhand Development Board has started promoting strawberry cultivation among farmers of the region.
“It is for the first time that Bundelkhand’s image has changed from a region with barren land to fertile land after strawberry cultivation began in Jhansi,” says Raja Bundela, vice chairman of Bundelkhand Development Board.
“Farmers across Bundelkhand will benefit from strawberry farming, especially those who have small land holdings,” adds Bundela.
“The state government is promoting strawberry cultivation in Bundelkhand. The government has assured farmers to reimburse their loss, if any, if they opt for strawberry farming,” he says.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath
had virtually inaugurated the month-long Strawberry Festival in Jhansi on January 17, which concluded on February 16.
Prof AK Pal of horticulture department at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, is confident that strawberries can be grown in other parts of the state also during winter.
“If in winter, strawberry could be grown in Jhansi, then in the same temperature and using same technique it can be grown in other parts of Uttar Pradesh,” says Pal.
First-timers develop east UP’s first strawberry farm
The Kandawa area of Varanasi now has eastern UP’s first strawberry farm, developed by firsttime cultivators. It is talking point among the region’s farmers, who want to take up its cultivation.
Ramesh Mishra, an alumnus of BHU, along with his friend and partner Madan Tiwari, started growing strawberry in Varanasi in November last year. Mishra calls the strawberry farm a “new baby”, which took birth due to the lockdown.
Mishra worked in a prestigious school for about two decades in the non-academic section as manager. The global pandemic resulted in a lockdown and all the schools were closed. Mishra, a workaholic, got bored as the school was closed. On August 15, 2020, he resigned, took a month’s break and decided to venture into a new field in October.
“After a week of churning, the idea to set up an orchard, including mangoes, guavas and some other fruits, on my ancestral land in Azamgarh, struck me. In the meantime, a friend suggested that I may also give a thought to strawberry cultivation. It would be a completely new venture in the region,” Mishra says.
“I liked the idea and gave up the orchard plan. I shared it with my friend Madan Tiwari. Together, we found a farm for growing strawberries. The farm was taken on lease for 10 years,” he adds.
Mishra went to a strawberry nursery in Pune for training in October. After week-long training, he returned to Varanasi and imparted training to Madan Tiwari. Thereafter, the farm was ploughed and mulching beds (rows) were made for plantation of the saplings of strawberry and the drip irrigation facility was installed.
Mishra and Tiwari placed an order for 15,000 strawberry saplings at a nursery in Mahabaleshwar (Maharashtra) in the last week of October.
“We received the strawberry saplings in the first week of November and they were planted. We watered the saplings through drip irrigation,” Tiwari said.
“A friend, an expert in strawberry farming, helped us look after the saplings. Only organic manure was used in the farm,” he says. Seven workers were deployed to look after the crop. In mid-December, fruiting started and by the last week of December, all the plants were laden with ripe strawberries.
They plucked strawberries and offered a few boxes of the fruit at the Kashi Vishwanath temple. On the way back, they saw a vendor selling strawberries and asked him from where he got them. “From Delhi,” answered the vendor.
He urged him to sell organic Varanasi-grown strawberries and placed two boxes, each containing 250 gm, on his cart. The vendor sold them within a few minutes and placed an order for more strawberries. About five big marts, which also sell vegetables and fruits, placed orders for the strawberries grown in Mishra’s field.
Strawberries are sold at Rs 250 to Rs 300 per kg in the local market, Tiwari says. On average, the farm produces 20kg of fruit daily, which are plucked and packed on the farm and supplied to the local market. In the future, they plan to expand the strawberry cultivation further and supply it to markets outside Varanasi as well. Strawberry plants will continue to fruit till midMarch, Mishra says. Mishra and Tiwari also provide free guidance to farmers interested in strawberry farming.