Strawberry would soon be available abundantly as the fruit will now be cultivated in the southern parts of the state.…
Strawberry (Getty Images)
Strawberry would soon be available abundantly as the fruit will now be cultivated in the southern parts of the state.
The state government has decided to undertake cultivation of the red berries in districts of south Bengal following a successful trial run at Bagnan in Howrah recently.
Strawberries are cultivated in a few areas of the Darjeeling Hills but are rare in the plains.
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The agriculture division of Gopalpur Block I office had cultivated the fruit on an experimental basis.
The profitability of the experiment has left farmers happy. Initially, farmers were apprehensive about growing strawberries in south Bengal as they were not sure if the climate and conditions would be suitable for cultivating the fruit.
But the outcome of the experiment has put their doubts at rest and they are now feeling confident about going ahead with growing this fruit in the southern parts of the state.
Around 5,000 strawberries can be cultivated on one bigha of land and a kilogram of strawberry fetches around Rs 350 to Rs 400 in the local wholesale market.
A farmer from Tufanganj 2 block of Cooch Behar district has successfully cultivated strawberry in his field and earned accolades from agricultural experts. The agriculture department awarded him ‘Krishak Samman’ for his unique farming technique.
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