Present trend in straw berry production in terms of yield is around 2.5 MT .where as potential of strawberry plant is estimated to produce around 25 MT
Farmers are getting per acre income of around 1.25 to 2 lac rupees based on the prevailing market price
Where as if you maintain 22,000 to 25,000 plants per acre in double row system at the spacing of 30 CM * 30 CM and 100 CM in between the centre of two rows , it will produce around 25 MT
Essentials
Plant population of requisite number
Drip irrigation with fertigation
Mulching sheet on raised bed
prescribed Water soluble fertilizers in adjusted quantity in pre flowering, flowering, post flowering and fruits development stages
Higher organic manure over the raised bed
Plant protection - preventive measures
Most important is time bound/ season bound cultivation…
Sure it produce very good yield with per acre income in the range of 20 to 25 lac …
Strawberry grows well in the temperature range of 15 to 25 degree celsius however it has wider adaptation and can grow in other temperature extending upto 30 degree celsius with compromise on yield.
Regarding cost of production it is sum total of factors of production like planting material, type of manures and fertilizers used, land preparations , herbicide , plant protection measures, labour , irrigation methods ( conventional or micro irrigation ) ,intercultural operations , harvesting and interest on investment , Electricity and Supervisor if employed for managing the farm etc …Except few items of inputs , the cost of other inputs vary from location to location …So I trust you can arrive at cost of production for your location …
Further if you plan to grow strawberry in hitech methods like hydroponics and green house , your cost of cultivation will show alarming figure in many hundreds of thousands as huge fixed cost on infrastructure also add to the cost of production along with variable cost …
The farm is located in Palamaner - where temperatures range between 15 C and 32 C.
Would strawberries grow in this weather without greenhouse/hyrdoponics?
Do they grow all year round?
How’s the market for Strawberries - say in Bangalore or Chennai? Our farm is located around 130 kms from
Bangalore and 180 kms from Chennai.
How much would it cost approximately per acre for the plants and the fertilizers (excluding labour)?
For planting material alone it cost you Rs.80,000 to 1,00,000 ( quality planting material )
Fertilizers and manures Rs.20,000
Particulars of Nutrients Quantity Amount in INR
Urea 12.5 kg 00067.00
Ammonium nitrate 12.5 kg 00700.00
Sulfate of ammonia 25 kgs 00750.00
Calcium nitrate 30 kgs 00600.00
Potassium nitrate 17.5 kgs 01050.00
Potassium sulfate 17.5 kgs 01100.00
Mono -ammo.phos (MAP) 30 kgs 02100.00
Magnesium sulfate
(Epsom salts) 10 kgs 00800.00
Basal SSP 100 kgs 00840.00
Farmyard manure 10 MT 12000.00
TOTAL 20,007.00
Price for King fruits ie, terminal mother fruits of bigger size ( first quality meant for export ) sells @ Rs.500 to 700 per kgs
Second grade fruits of little less size sells @Rs.200 to Rs.300 per kg
Other fruits sells @Rs.70 to Rs.100 per kg
If your yield is 10,000 kgs per acre
30% of the fruits will be king fruits ie,roughly 3000 kgs that sells @ Rs 500 = Rs.15 lac
40 % of the yield is of second quality ie , roughly 4000 kgs which sells @ Rs .200 per kg = Rs.8 lac
Remaining 30 % of varied size, ie roughly 3000 kgs that sells@ Rs.70 to 100 per kg = Rs. 2.1 lac
So the total annual income per acre of strawberry is 24.1 lac in intensive cultivation to say between 20 to 25 lac per acre per year …
But farm gate price is 40% of above figure ie 8 to 10 lac per acre per year …
You need to prepare your land to fine tilth , have raised bed , polythene plastic mulch over raised bed , lay drip irrigation @ 2LPH capacity with dripper spacing of 60 CMS , watering in late evening hours , trimming of stolans , september - october planting well after the end of South west monsoon , administration of above mentioned fertilizers in various phases of strawberry like early vegetative phase , pre flowering, flowering, post flowering , fruits development ( early and maturity period ) etc…
The strawberry is sold in select market place in major metropolitan and cosmopolitan cities …since production is limited in India , the demand for fruits like strawberry always looks good …In star hotels strawberry is served as one of the premium food items and also served in major tourist centre…
If you properly plan for production of strawberry with improved technology , your cost of production will be around Rs. 3.0 to 3.5 lac Rupees per acre
If you undertake hydroponics cultivation in protected cultivation system , your cost of production per acre would figure around Rs.75 lac to 80 lac per acre . But you can get back your investment in 4 to 5 year period due to yield and quality of fruits …The major thing to note in protected cultivation is cost of infrastructure and maintenance with continuous power supply and close monitoring and supervision …Also if you go for quality materials of international standards the hydroponics system would cost you an additional 20 % escalating total project cost to nearly 1 crore rupees per acre …
It is the main reason the protected cultivation is beyond the reach of ordinary farmers whose affordability is far less than that of corporate business or elite big farmers …
Dear Dr Ramu sir, Pl inform me, whether the Strawberry crop ,in open field ,with in a radius of 60 kms ( areial distance ) is suitable or not and what are the special precautions we have to take in open cultivation of strawberry . What approximate yield we can expect from one acre, if we follow expert consultants advice,like you.
Dear G.P.Rao brother …I have not been conferred any distinction like Dr. and all . Anyhow I appreciate your magnanimity and immaculate heart to honor me with dubious distinction …Ha ha ha
For your kind informtion , the strawberry varieties are sensitive to prevailing climate that decides its performance in terms of growth and yield .
The inbuilt character in strawberry is that it is obviously short day plant and needs some chilling temperature to break bud dormancy .It is the reason why the strawberry plant grow best int he temperature range of 15 to 25 degree celsius .
However modern breeding and crop improvement program has made this strawberry plants to adapt and grow in other temperature condition either side of above temperature range …denoted as day neutral plant ( strawberry insensitive to length of day light )
The wild berries in Indian subcontinent specifically subhimalayan belt and North eastern Indian part are growing with fruits of sour and acidic taste …and it has been involved in breeding program to develop new tasty variety …Different varieties of strawberries are cultivation in various region…
So on account of variations in varieties of strawberries planted and different climatic conditions and even varying weather parameters within season and highly varying edaphic and nutritional factors from location to location across the country the
The yield obtained is in the range of 0.8 MT to 2.5 MT in the open field cultivation and it is different in protected cultivation methods with yield ranging from 8 MT to 20 MT .
In case of open cultivation the necessary precaution required is
1.To select suitable and right cultivar
2.TO plant in right season
3.To have soil well manured and weedfree with provision for drainage
4.Strawberry is shallow rooted ie, the active root zone is present in just 1.0 to 1.25 feet soil depth …so excess water or deficit water will affect growth and flowering
5.Split dose of nutrients should be applied in various stages crop growth
6.Climate and nutrient deficiency will even make berry colorless and white without taste …
7.plastic mulching make cultivation clean and productive
8.Remove excess runners and allow not more than 15 to 18 and keep the crown weedfree and give earth mound around the base …
9.In case temperature level goes unusually , better irrigate the strawberry field in the late evening hours
10.Better monitor daily temperature . Day and night temperature and diurnal variation , Humidity percentage in the atmosphere and regulate your nutritients and water management accordingly
11.Use GA3 for better flowering and yield .The flower produce fruits in one month period …so the nutrients management during preflowering , flowering and post flowering is most essential …
Since you belong to bangalore area I understand you are the best man and expert to know about your climate and fix your problem to suit your goal …
Because besides cultivar and climate , agronomic practices like type of nutrients and interculture operation decide your strawberry yield
There is no loss due to perishable nature of produce …Generally all vegetables and fruits are perishable in nature . So needs to be delivered to destination , ie must be sold within shelf life period …or else can be converted into value added product …Straw berry is used in Icecream industry and Jam industry . Proper logistics and supply chain / value chain will not leave strawberry growers into risk …So no question of loss eventhough strawberry is highly perishable in nature …What i here mean by 40% discount is when you sell the produce direct to end users you will realize almost 90 % of sale proceed . If you sell the produce to some intermediaries at your farm gate itself he will bargain your produce at price far below market price and will make huge profit in short time …kind of trading by intermediaries …Because all the strawberry growers can not sell their produce directly to the end users …
Further cost of cultivation is not 1.2 lac rupees …1.2 lac rupees is meant for ferilizers and manures and planting material alone …This is conservative estimate …Actually if you want to plant elite planting materials like Day glow , All star and other high yielding cultivar the planting material cost would go upto 1.5 to 2 lac rupees …
Here I meant per acre production cost ranging between 3 to 3.5 lac rupees covering manure, fertilizers, land preparation , leveling , drip irrigation with fertigation , plant protection like pesticide, fungicide, mulching , trimming , labor and other intercultural operation and interest on investment …
Even though earning potential is more in strawberry cultivation the farmers could not realize the full benefit through hi yield , organized marketing and bargaining power , reaching right customers without the assistance of intermediaries etc…
A farmer who is cultivating strawberry by toiling and moiling in soil get 8 lac after many months of hardwork , where as market intermediaries play their role just around harvest and pocket huge money in few days …
This is the true reason for initiating this thread on strawberry and note where we fail to make gain out of our project work …
1.Bridging yield gap - Between 2.5 to 25 MT through scientific cultivation practices best designed to suit the specific crop
2.Organized marketing and capacity to bargain
3.Value addition …
If you do not want to make effort on marketing and selling and just want to make profit without going beyond your farm gate , simple logic is intensive cultivation to get highest yield per unit area …
In lieu of getting 2.5 MT per acre, do try your level best to harvest atleast 7.5 MT …This can be easily reached…because when potential yielding capacity is 25 MT , working to get 7.5 MT is reasonable that is well withing maximum realizable yield per unit area
And try to get good quality fruits through effective and scientific agronomic practices practices - marketable quality with size , color and taste …
Instead of using normal synthetic chemical fertilizers whose nutrients use efficiency is just 20 to 30 % , do use water soluble fertilizers of varying grade and type in fertigation mode .This will make your fruits uniform in size and maturity and weight …
Do use More organic manures like farmyard manure and micro nutrients and secondary nutrients like MgSo4 that fix taste and color of strawberry fruits
Use GA3 that enhance fruit setting …
Apply water soluble fertilizers in small quantity in many split doses that increase nutrients use efficiency that promote growth and development , flowering and fruiting in a steady and active manner …
Like these when you bestow your attention on every aspect of cultivation and crop specifics you will see your victory
Simple formula to get higher yield is
1.Maintain requisite plant population in unit area
2.See that all the plant grow well without starvation and infestation
3.Every plant produce enough flowers
4.Every flowers set fruits
5.Every fruit is converted into quality fruits in terms of size, color, weight and taste
Then you will realize the true benefit of cultivation …
You just give risk allowance of 20 % on yield …Farmers will not fail anywhere in the course of farming life …
Failure is due to lack of knowledge and awareness about right type of cultivation practices , and marketing …
Crop / plant knowledge is most essential to get higher yield
For example all Brinjal variety is not uniform in every aspect …one brinjal variety has potential to yield 20 MT when other brinjal variety has potential to yield 150 MT
When one sugarcane variety has potential to give 40 MT per acre , other sugarcane variety has high potential of giving more than 100 MT per acre
Likewise one strawberry variety has potential to yield 3 to 4 MT yield per acre , other strawberry variety has potential to yield even 50 MT …
So to become a successful farmer , he should develop tendency to learn about various varieties of commercial crops and cultivate the ability to differentiate among the different varieties of same crop in terms of yield and quality and growth behaviour, flowering and pollination behaviour and requirement of nutrients , water , climate , sowing season , spacing , plant population per unit area , pest and disease incidence and its management , preventive measures , post harvest management to increase shelf life , value addition , market intelligence , ability to identify soil type and soil fertility and its suitability to various crops etc…
Dear Dr Ramu sir, Upto my knowledge, there is a circular from Government of India, distributed by Govt of Andhrapradesh, which speaks to call all Bsc/Msc Ag, and Bvsc/Mvsc as Dr ,like calling to Mbbs?Md/Ms as Dr. It is done during 80’s, i beleive. Since I thought you are an agri graduate/Pg, i have addressed you as Dr. Even i call all Msc/Bsc ag and Bvsc/Mvsc as Dr, including Dr Chandra, our lovely charming Farmnest HERO.
I appreciate you very much for your willingness to educate us in agriculture/Horticulture crops and i expect some more qualified experts also encourage the farming community.
I would like to join Mr G.P. Rao sir in thanking Mr Ramu sir for his selfless never tiring energy to share his wealth of knowledge among us with the only intention to educate towards prosperity. I express my sincere gratitude to Mr Ramu.
Dear Mr.G.P.Rao sir…Thank you for your excessive politeness but you are senior to most of the forum members .You can call me by name . Calling people by sir or Dr. makes distance between real souls…Ok Thank you for your humility .
I could not respond to you in time because I went to kodaikanal along with some of my friends Mr.Raj Elango and Mr.Vasu for soil survey that is carrying an interesting story to such an innovative and adventurous farmers’ scientist that can make wonder in commercial farming business …An illustration with pictures are presented here …
We studied soil profile in the upper reaches of hills and also in the lower slope . The upper slopes have got organic matter rich top layer measuring from 2 to 3 feet and lower slopes are having very rich organic top layer measuring 3 to 7 feet deep and at the steep slope it is 1/4 foot to zero with acidic or calcareous rocky outcrop that register organic carbon content in the range of 0 to 0.4 , upper slopes with OC % of 4 .0 to 5.0 and lower slopes registering high organic carbon percentage in the range of 8.5 to 9.5 …The reason is top slope or upper reaches has got scanty natural vegetation like few shrubs and grasses only where as in downhill area with lower slope gradient the thick natural vegetation has accumulated extraordinary organic matter with PH ranging from 5.5 to 6.5 …
The temperature registered somewhere between 19 to 24 degree celsius in the day time . And the night temperature around 15 to 17 degree celsius…
I heard my friend say that the strawberry is bearing individual fruit weight of 220 grams…Because of tight schedule we could not take a snap of strawberry …
Hello Mr. Ramu,
I am new to Farm nest officially, however going through the forums for so long time to refer and get in to agriculture. Thanks to CHANDRA for creating such a reference and guidance base for new comers like me.
I am Mechanical Engineer and deals with Steel construction at present for Petrochemical and all kinds of Industrial structure, so now you can assume well on my knowledge, to be Frank i have zero knowledge on the Agriculture (Physically),
Looking at your post I am much interested in setting up a Strawberry Plants in Green House/ Poly House/ Open. I have a land near Kancheepuram and a open well with moderate water around the year. previously the land was used to cultivate Paddy. However after digging the well, the dig sand is spread and left unused for past 2 years (Approximately).
Could you please guide me, as the things has to be from the scratch
how much would be my investment,
what are all the requirements,
can i get bank loan,
subsidies from the government to grow, etc .
Nutrients and enrichment cost in case of organic and non Organic
Cropping Duration.
Whether the same plants can be used for multiple cropping (2/3 times) or have to be changed for each cropping.
How Many plants can be planted in an acre.
How much water is required
Desired climatic Condition.
Is my location- Kancheepuram/ TN suitable for Open cultivation as the Green/ Poly House will incur huge investment.
Do you provide any service in setting up the planting.
where to get the plants in such huge quantities or we have to nursery from the seed, if so where to get the seeds.
Any pest control required, if so what are the harmful pest we can generally expect in this planting and how to control it.
manuring cycle.
I still have a lot of questions to put up will keep that in my second round …
Appreciate your reply on the above to get the project live and fertile. BTW can i have your permission to visit your Strawberry planting to have more idea.
Hello Mr. Ramu,
are u back…
To give a better idea on the land and well dig sand and water… i have attached some photographs of my Land. You could have an idea of Well dig Sand behind my Father In law in the attached Photograph, advice me whether open cultivation of Strawberry is possible in this land, Will birds or rats not eat the fruits when cultivated in the open land.
Yes friend …just returned today morning …Thank you for posting picture here and I truly appreciate your interest in farming …You said your land is located in kanchipuram …I also went through your queries regarding straw berry cultivation techniques and other related aspects …
Good ! let us first look into the essentials and then will think about answering other queries …
Kanchipuram is within 50 to 60 kms distance from sea shore that moderate climate …I mean it is keeping temperature substantially high round the year except short winter in January and February …The summer temperature is alarmingly high in the recent past due to multivarious reason …
Soil PH is mostly in the range of 7.3 to 8.7 in kanchpuram district …
However that we can manage and control artificially … But prevailing weather and climate and partly soil characteristics seem not permitting you to opt for open cultivation …So it is ruled out definitely …
Next option of going for green house or polyhouse is not recommended due to high investment on infrastructures and necessary power supply that has become disorderly and critical …Even solar power output is not standard here …So such uncertainity will make your production cost irrationally high with bad consequence of very long break even and return on investment …
My best advise is to drop the idea of cultivating strawberry in kanchipuram …Please do not mistake me for telling this …because straw berry will grow in kanchipuram but with only few fruits with moderate taste and color that wont sell in market …
Friend …Please tell about where exactly your land comes in kanchipuram with village name and direction from kanchipuram proper , extent of holdings and your present and future idea …I hear most of my friend says lot of marketing opportunity exist for fruits and vegetables in middle east and far east for quality and tasty produce …If you tell what is your real intention , whether to do farming as hobby or commercial value , then I will suggest best way of doing …then you can do it on own own or you can engage someone to assist you …
Friend,
My land is located in Kizhpernamallur, around 10- 12 kms in total from kancheepuram in the Kancheepuram- Uthiramerur road and is 2 kms inside from the main road.
After digging the well i haven’t utilized that 1 acre land close to well as my relatives spread that well dig soil over the paddy being cultivated land, say approximately 2 yrs before. However the well water is utilised for other part of the land and to cultivate my relatives land.
I want to utilize this land too with the help of my relatives, I want to know what would be the best to cultivate in this soil, or i have to add manure and change the soil condition to grow vegetable. if in case i put up poly house will that be economic and what crop can i do to get the returns in 3 or 4 yrs… or open cultivation of vegs is best… please recommend me… for your info… the land around it is fully utilized for Paddy cultivation…
You are right here veg n fruits have demand through out the year…in fact we get it cheaper here compared to price in India… …don’t understand why…though the agri is done to very very less extent compared to our great nation…
Your places grow common vegetables in open field cultivation and sandiness is due to palar river basin with PH around 7.5 to 8.0 …Paddy and sugarcane were predominant crops in that area …But open field cultivation of vegetables needs labor not only for agronomic practice and also for regular periodic harvest …if your area is small then you can go for poly house where you can grow mini cucumber that yield around 50 MT in just 3 months …harvest starts from 35 days after planting …You need not prepare land again for next crop …You can relay cucumber with tomato or capsicum in the same growing bed …This is the method to make continuous harvest of many different vegetables in a year in tune with alteration or change of seasons like summer , winter …Since Tamilnadu gets much of its rainfall in North east monsoon during October - November , no risk of crop damage due to protection under poly house …
Concept is efficient and effective use of space , seasons and resources for continuous production …Also you can get bumper yield in polyhouse than in open cultivation …
The reason is polyhouse build inside temperature and humidity that is most conducive parameter for vegetable physiology and production …one negative consequence is that it also builds up insect pest like mites , fruit flies , scales…generally sucking pest…
so you need to bestow your attention on above aspect of cultivation to reap rich harvest in special crops like cucumber, capsicum , tomato …Also beans and brinjal …
Continuous production through efficient administration will bring you rich income …but one person must exclusively be fixed at site to make continuous and routine supervision and monitoring of crops for pest surveillance and ensure healthy plant growth …
To increase yield grown under polyhouse you need to do small small things on small small matters like thinning of branches , water shoots , clippings of unproductive vegetative shoots , tipping in brinjals , removing water shoots in tomato and capsicum …timely administration of water soluble fertilizers through trickle irrigation especially at critical period of crop development like pre flowering , flowering and fruits formation and development , artificial stress creation to invigorate the plants again to produce more when you notice reduction in yield , scheduling irrigation only during cool night hours during hot summer months , combining organic and inorganic in suitable proportion , reducing poisonous pesticide used and utilizing bio pesticide etc…etc…
These are all small small things that will make very big result in terms of yield and income …
Complete organic reduce your yield and income & complete inorganic and conventional cultivation reduce consumption value …Blend of these two will serve both purpose like yield and quality of the produce that will sure command price and quality …but if you want to do all these things you must commit your time and interest in farming …
You must speak to plants …the plants will then speak back to you through yield and income …if you fail to speak to plant then plant will simply sleep forgetting to give benefit to you …
Even a lack of care for a day or two will make your plants angry …But once you start speaking to plants the plants will all start smiling at your with very big riches …
For your location it is preferable to install a low cost poly house …because the winds from nearby sea shore bears water vapors with lot of salt Michelle suspended in air that when deposit over the plants , either flower aborts that reduce number of fruits or impact plant growth …The poly house will set right this problem and will make your plants grow jubilantly …
When you grow tomato continuously for 10 or 11 months it will give nearly 55 to 70 MT , Brinjal will give 80 to 100 MT per acre …
Capsicum you can harvest 35 to 40 MT …Cucumber at an average 50 MT in 90 days in an acre …
But strawberry will not certainly give any result for you there …
If you could not afford to provide for labour and continuous supervision , you better go for guava cultivation under high density planting …that will give you 20 MT per acre with average care …but you must choose appropriate variety like L49 …or for moderate yield with good market preference Thaiwan guava that will make you crazy to eat more and more due to its crispiness and characteristic aroma …Guava market is picking up steadily both in national and overseas market …
Most important your soil is a best fit for guava as far as my personal experience is concerned …
will keep that in my second round 
…don’t understand why…though the agri is done to very very less extent compared to our great nation…