This year, farmers are experimenting on developing a mother plant growing fruit, instead of getting strawberry plants from Pune.
Visakhapatnam :
As the city is getting colder with foggy mornings, the tourist season has arrived. Lambasingi in Visakha Agency with its rich strawberry fields, is beckoning tourists. On weekends, hundreds of people are thronging the fields to pluck the ripened strawberry fruits. This year, farmers are experimenting on developing a mother plant growing fruit, instead of getting strawberry plants from Pune.
Farmers in Chintapalli mandal started growing strawberries two years ago after getting plants from Pune. Buoyed by the good yield and profits, they continued cultivation of strawberries in the Agency. As the fruit plant requires a cool climate to grow, the Agency has proved to be an ideal place for strawberry cultivation.
The strawberry fields have become a major attraction for tourists. Some tourists are actually visiting Lambasingi to enjoy plucking the fruit and taking beautiful pictures. Guntapakala and Rajapakala in Lambasingi have become tourist spots. Normally, the saplings are brought from Pune in September. The plants start yielding fruits from November. The season continues till January.
“We are achieving good results in cultivation of strawberries. The average yield of fruit per plant last year was 600 grams. This year there is a slight delay in fruit ripening due to weather conditions. The plants need 5-15 degree Celsius temperature to yield quality fruit. After harvesting, the packed boxes of strawberries are sent to Vizag,” said Bhaskar Raju of Teja Organ Berries in Rajapakala.
About 25,000 saplings are raised in one acre. The plants developed using tissue culture, are priced at `15 each. “We set a target of reaping 1 kg of fruit from each plant this year. On an experimental basis, we have developed a mother plant (second generation) from old plants, which helps us save money on buying plants from Pune. As we have achieved good results, we want to expand the experiment with the present plants,” Raju told TNIE.
Tribals are also being encouraged to take up cultivation of strawberries, which needs investment. Meanwhile, the government is providing subsidy on plants and other material to tribals. The ITDA has plans to provide saplings and support to the interested tribals in cultivation of strawberries. Thousands of tourists visit Lambasingi during winter season. The tourists are allowed to pluck the fruit in strawberry fields and drop the produce in baskets. A few fruits are given to tourists to taste them. A 200 gram box of strawberries costs `50-80. The tourists are evincing interest in purchasing fresh fruit, which ensures remunerative price to farmers for their produce.
“We have come down to Lambasingi to pluck strawberries, which is quite exciting. It is good that we can taste strawberries while plucking the fruit just like being in our own farm,” said Swarna of Vizag.
Cultivation of more exotic fruits in offing
Apart from strawberries, the farm also has dragon fruit, raspberry, mulberry and passion fruit plants. As a tourist attraction, cultivation of more exotic fruits is being taken up in Visakha Agency. Farmers who want to experiment, are likely to reap the fruits by next season.
source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> States> Andhra Pradesh / by Sri Lakshmi Muttevi / Express News Service / December 03rd, 2018
