Table-1 : Country-wise
export of fresh strawberries from
India during 2001-02. Country Quantity (Tonnes) Value (Rs. in lakhs) Austria 4.82 6.65 Bangladesh 110.50 4.88 Germany 0.01 0.005 Jordan 0.25 0.39 U.S.A. 1.96 0.81 Total 117.55 12.74 Source : APEDA,
New Delhi
4.2
Analysis and Future Strategy
Strawberry has advantages of easy
propogation, early maturity and high yield with 5-9% sugar. To boost its production there is a need to
develop infra-structure facilities for transport of produce to primary markets
as the fruit is highly perishable.
Processing facilities in the major producing states have to be made for
value addition.
5.
PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY
5.1
Agro-climatic requirements
Strawberry grows well under
temperate climate. Some cultivars can be grown in sub-tropical climate.
Daylight period of 12 hrs. or less and moderate temperature are important for
flower-bud formation. Each cultivar has a different day length and temperature
requirement.
Sandy loam to loamy soil with pH
5.7-6.5 is ideal for cultivation.
5.2
Varieties Cultivated
Important strawberry varieties cultivated
in India are Chandler, Tioga, Torrey, Selva, Belrubi, Fern and Pajaro. Other varieties include Premier, Red cost,
Local Jeolikot, Dilpasand, Bangalore, Florida 90, Katrain Sweet, Pusa Early
Dwarf & Blakemore.
5.3
Land Preparation
The soil is
ploughed during summer with a soil turning plough which is followed by repeated
ploughing to make soil friable, remove weeds and stubbles. Soil fumigation with
a mixture of methyl bromide and chloropicrin helps to increase root system,
reduce fertilizer requirement and control the weeds.
5.4
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 hilly 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 regulators
Application 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 Measures
5.10.1 Insect Pests
White 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.
7.
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.
8.
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
(Amount in Rs.)
|
Sl. No. |
Component |
Proposed Expenditure |
|
|
1. |
Cultivation Expenses |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Cost of planting material |
200000 |
|
|
(ii) |
Fertilizers & Pestsicides |
11000 |
|
|
(iii) |
Mulching |
12400 |
|
|
(iv) |
Cost of Labour |
14400 |
|
|
(v) |
Others, if any, (Power) |
3600 |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
241000 |
|
2. |
Irrigation |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Tube-well/submersible pump |
50000 |
|
|
(ii) |
Cost of Pipeline |
- |
|
|
(iii) |
Others, if any |
- |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
50000 |
|
3. |
Cost of Drip (Turboline) with Fertigation |
40000 |
|
|
4. |
Infrastructure |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Store & Pump House |
20000 |
|
|
(ii) |
Labour room |
10000 |
|
|
(iii) |
Agriculture Equipments & Implements |
5000 |
|
|
(iii) |
Others, if any, please specify |
- |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
35000 |
|
5. |
Land Development |
|
|
|
|
(i) |
Soil leveling |
4000 |
|
|
(ii) |
Digging |
- |
|
|
(iii) |
Fencing |
29600 |
|
|
(iv) |
Others, if any, please specify |
- |
|
|
|
Sub Total |
33600 |
|
|
Grand Total |
4,00,000 |
|
N.B: Cost of land, if newly
purchased, can be included in the project.
This will be limited to
10% of the total project
cost.
8.3
The
major components of the model are:
·
Land
Development: (Rs. 4.0 thousand): This is the labour cost of shaping and
dressing the land site.
·
Fencing
(Rs. 29.6 thousand): It is necessary to safeguard the orchard by a barbed wire fencing.
·
Irrigation Infra-structure (Rs. 50.0 thousand):
For effective working with drip irrigation system, it is necessary to
install a tube-well with diesel/electric pumpset and submersible motor. This is post cost of tube-well for one acre.
·
Drip Irrigation (Rs. 40.0 thousand): This is average cost of one acre drip system
for the crop inclusive of the cost of fertigation equipment. The actual cost will vary depending on
location, plant population and plot geometry.
·
Implements
& Equipment (Rs. 5.0 thousand): For
investment on improved manually/power operated essential implements and
equipment.
·
Building
Infrastructure (Rs. 30.0 thousand): A
one acre orchard would require minimally a labour shed and a store-cum - pump
house and a labour shed.
·
Cost
of Cultivation (Rs.2.41 lakhs): Land preparation and planting operations
and cultural practices will involve 206 days of manual labour, the cost of
which will come to Rs.14.40 thousand.
The cost of planting material works out to Rs.2.00 lakhs for 25000
plants @ Rs.8 per plant.
8.4
Labour
cost has been put at an average of Rs.70 per man-day. The actual cost will vary from location to location depending
upon minimum wage levels or prevailing wage levels for skilled and unskilled
labour.
8.5
Recurring Production Cost: Recurring
production costs are exhibited in Annexure III. The main components are planting material,
land preparation, inputs application (FYM, fertilizers, micro-nutrients liming
material, plant protection chemicals etc.), power and labour on application of
inputs, inter-cultural and other farm operations.
8.6
Returns from the Project: The strawberry is short duration crop. The crop planted in September-October starts going yield in
May-June. It continues to give yield
upto 3rd year thereafter it needs re-planted. Average yield of strawberry is 8 tonnes/acre
with good management. The average sale
rate is Rs.40,000 per tonne. Thus gross
return works out to Rs.3.20 lakhs per acre/annum. (Vide Annexure-III).
Project Financing
8.7 Balance
Sheet: The projected balance sheet of the model is
given at Annexure IV.
There would be three sources of financing the project as below:
Source Rs. Thousand
Farmer’s share (50%) 200.00
Capital
subsidy (20%)
80.00
Term
loan (30%) 120.00
Total 400.00
8.8
Profit & Loss Account: The cash flow statement may be seen in Annexure V. Annexure VI projects the profit and
loss account of the model. Annual gross
profit works out to around Rs.184.70 per acre.
8.9
Repayment of Term Loan: The term loan will
be repaid in eleven equated 6 monthly installments of Rs.10.91 thousand with a
moratorium of 12 months. The rate of
interest would have to be negotiated with the financing bank. It has been put
at 12% in the model (vide Annexures VII & VII A).
8.10
Annexure VIII gives depreciation calculations.
Project Viability:
8.11
IRR/BCR:
The viability of the project is assessed in Annexure IX. The IRR works out to 45.07 and the
BCR to 1.1.
8.12
The Debt Service coverage ratio calculations are presented in Annexure
X. The average DSCR works out
to 8.0.
8.13
Payback Period:
On the basis of costs and returns of the model, the pay back period is
estimated at 2.31 years (vide Annexure XI).
8.14
Break-even
Point: The break even point will be reached in the third year. At this point fixed cost would work out to 51.3%
of gross sales (vide Annexure XII).