Vincent Kipyegon
Strawberries are a group of bright red juicy fruits that often grow in clusters that have delicious fleshy taste and nutritional benefits. They can be consumed raw and fresh, cooked or frozen. Its delicious taste makes it a useful additive to variety food products.
Strawberries are a good source of vitamin C, manganese, folate (vitamin B9), and potassium. They are used in adding flavour to meals, cake and can be served as dessert and salad, making ice cream, strawberry juice and an additive of yoghurt.
There is a high demand for strawberries as a value addition product for other food products such as ice cream, yogurt and cakes. Additionally, strawberries require minimum attention during growth and take a short period to start producing fruits. This makes it a viable cash crop for the fast consumer market food.
Market forces demand the best size of a strawberry fruit. This is achieved by implementing the recommended farming practices. Most people grow strawberries together with flowers for aesthetic value. However, the plant can be turned into an income generating essential cash crop. Its demand in the market has overtaken the supply.
Health benefits of strawberries
1. Prevent heart diseases and lowers high blood pressure through fibre and potassium content in strawberries.
2. Strawberries contain powerful antioxidants such as carotenoids that guard against stomach, prostate, lung, breast, colon and pancreatic cancers.
3. Promotes weight-loss management due to low cholesterol content.
4. Boosts immunity through excellent vitamin C content and antioxidants.
5. It is rich in vitamin C which is essential for the formation of collagen, a protein that keeps skin healthy.
Ecological conditions for growing strawberry
Strawberry grows well in deep fertile loamy sand soil with humus. They thrive in soil with pH between 5.5 and 6.5. The soil should be well drained and aerated to allow for growth of strong strawberry roots.
Strawberries thrive well in temperatures between 20oC and 37oC. Temperatures below 20 o C can lead to blight attack on strawberry leaves while high temperatures might scorch strawberry leaves.
Moderate annual rainfall between 1000mm and 1200 mm is suitable for strawberry production. Irrigation is required where rainfall is below 1000mm to preserve the strawberry leaves. High rainfall can cause water logging on the roots thus weakening the plant and rotting of fruits.
Moderate sunshine is vital for the growth, development of strawberry plant leaves and ripening of fruits. The altitude of 1500m above sea level is favorable for growing strawberries.
Ways of growing strawberry
1. Green house
Advantages
a.) High yield; quantity and large size of fruits.
b.) Low exposure to pests and diseases.
c.) Minimum labour required on weeding.
Disadvantages
- Expensive to setup
2. Buckets, hanging gardens, Decked gardens, multi-storey, vertical gardens
Advantages
a.) Saves on space
b.) High yield of strawberry; quantity and medium size of fruits.
c.) Low exposure to pests and diseases.
d.) Minimum labour required on weeding and preparation.
Disadvantages
a.) Difficulty replenishing manure and soil to buckets and hanging structures.
3. Open field planting
Advantages
a.) High yields due to adequate nutrients on the soil.
b.) Maintenance is simple; mulching and replenishing of nutrients to the soil.
Disadvantages
a.) Labour intensive; preparation and weeding.
b.) The strawberry fruit sizes tend to be small.
b.) Prone to pests and diseases from the soil as well as rodents biting ripe strawberry fruits.
c.) Unpredictable weather patterns can lead to low yields.
Propagation of strawberries
Seedlings are obtained by propagating existing seedlings. Using a hand hoe, dig a section where the seedling grows or carefully pick small seedlings with small vine from a strawberry nursery.
Land preparation and planting
Plough and re-plough the land at an interval of 7 days until it achieves a smooth surface without hard pans. The land is then left for a period of 3-4 weeks to solarize. This process exposes soil-borne pathogens to high solar temperatures. Afterwards, the land is then harrowed to a fine tilt.
Once the land is well prepared, the seedlings are planted directly to the soil at a depth of about 5 cm and 5 cm apart. The seedlings should be mulched to prevent moisture loss.
The farm should be irrigated on the planting day should it fail to rain. Irrigation must be carried out regularly during the growth period.
Fertilizers
Bio-fertilizers can be applied throughout plant growth stages. Tecamin by Agritecno is a pure organic liquid fertilizer with a variety purposes for rooting, healing, leaf development, flowering and fruiting. Strawberries can be top-dressed continuously during its life-cycle to aid continuous absorption of nutrients.
Flowering
Strawberries develop flowers 80 days after planting. Any flower that develops before 3 months maturity period must be pruned. This gives the strawberry roots and runners a strong establishment. The flowers will undergo pollination and eventually develop small to medium sized fruits which will turn red to indicate that the berries are ripe and ready for harvest.
Weeding and pruning
Regular weeding is required to ensure the strawberry plant receives adequate nutrients. Ensuring the farm or buckets are weed free keeps the strawberry fruits and leaves healthy and pests and disease free. Weeding is done by uprooting weeding by hand or using hand hoe to gently unearth weeds around strawberry plants. The plant’s runners should be pruned in order for one strawberry plant to absorb necessary nutrients.