Miguel Braganza
Large-sized strawberries, similar to Japan’s ‘Beni-hoppe’ or ‘Red Cheeks’ varieties, have begun to make their appearance in Goa over the last two years. They are not as common as standard-sized strawberries and therefore fetch a premium price. The appealing red colour of the fruit is seductive, but one is also conscious of the dangers associated with the indiscriminate use of pesticides by commercial farmers in neighbouring states.
Strawberries are consumed either fresh or made into jam, juice, ice cream and milkshakes. The combination of strawberries and sweet milk cream was created in the court of King Henry VIII of England and remains one of the best ways to enjoy them. A scoop of strawberry or vanilla ice cream can further enhance the pleasure. Just 100 grams of strawberries supplies 71 per cent of the daily requirement of vitamin C and helps ward off coughs and colds during winter.
Botanically, the strawberry is not a berry but an accessory fruit, developing from the receptacle that holds the ovaries. One can easily discern that the shapes, sizes and colours of strawberries available in the market are not uniform. This is because ‘strawberry’ is a collective name given to the fruits of several inter-specific hybrids within the genus Fragaria. The introduction of Fragaria virginiana from North America, which had largely female flowers, and later the pollen-donor Fragaria chiloensis from Chile in 1714, led to the breeding of the garden strawberry in Brittany, France. Although Latin American in origin and developed in France, China is now the largest producer of strawberries, accounting for around 40 per cent of
global production.
The question on everyone’s mind, ‘Can it be grown in Goa?’ has now been convincingly and emphatically answered in the affirmative. It all began with a few individuals bringing strawberry plants to Goa and growing them in pots. Some failed to obtain fruit, while others literally tasted success. As more people expressed interest in growing strawberries, plant nurseries began supplying strawberry plants in Goa. What started as a trickle soon became a flow when strawberry cultivation was attempted on a field scale in the cool, sleepy hamlet of Verlem in Neturlim village, Sanguem taluka, bordering Karnataka.
A group of fifteen farmers from Verlem received hands-on training at a farm in Mahabaleshwar on field preparation and strawberry planting. Two self-help groups (SHGs) were formed to cultivate strawberries, and they obtained good yields that attracted media attention. Visitors were delighted to pick their own strawberries and pay by weight on their way out. However, there was no plan for utilising the unsold produce. While it proved that strawberries can yield fruit in Goa, the marketing aspect failed, or in the language of modern education, ‘needs improvement’.
Strawberry plants are propagated through rooted cuttings of runner shoots. Home-scale cultivation is possible anywhere in Goa, as profitability is not the primary concern for home consumption. People grow grapes or jaboticaba without considering profitability, and strawberries can be grown in much the same way
Certified ‘organic’ strawberries were on sale in Mahabaleshwar last week, but at double the market price of unlabelled strawberries. With the promotion of ‘Natural Farming’ in Goa under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), and the adoption of Verlem for strawberry cultivation under the ‘Atal Gram’ development scheme, this can be used to advantage by marketing organically grown strawberries through Goa State Horticultural Corporation outlets at reasonable rates.
