According to Dr N.P.Singh, district horticulture officer of Una, by the next 4-5 years Una would be the largest strawberry producing district in Himachal Pradesh and adjoining areas.

Strawberry which is a native of European countries was introduced last year in two orchards of Una district on an experimental basis and the fruit yield was economically viable and the taste greatly appreciated by the people. It is widely consumed as fresh fruit, used in candies, squash, ice-cream, jams and milk-shakes particularly due to its rich aroma and is a good source of vitamin C besides carotene and essential minerals.

The Italian chandler variety procured by the horticulture department from the government orchard Sirmour and Nauni University, Solan, is being planted these days in five orchards in various parts of the district. The plant flowers within 60 days and bears fruit in February and March, about 90-100 days after plantation. The fruit sold last year at a market price of Rs 50 to 70 per kg said Dr Singh.

Each plant costs Re 1 in the open market, but year after year, numerous runners generate beneath the plant which can be transplanted, thereby cutting on subsequent plant costs. A strawberry plant requires a little over one square feet of land and bears approximately 350 gms of fruit annually. About 2500 runners can be planted in one kanal of land giving a yield of about 800 kg of fruit annually. A cultivator can safely make a profit of 50 per cent in one season, says Vijay Chabba, a progressive cultivator from Santokhgarh.

Una district has a soil texture which is of the moderated loamy type, rich in organic matter and is the most suitable for strawberry cultivation. Moreover, the water table in most parts of the district is high, thereby providing cheap irrigation facilities and the hilly terrains provide good drainage suitable to the crop.

According to Dev Raj Sharma, Deputy Commissioner Una, the state government provides a subsidy of Rs 5000 to each cultivator for the initial plantation besides providing 25 and 33 per cent subsidy to marginal and small cultivators and 50 per cent subsidy to SC/St cultivators on plant costs and implement s. The Central Government too provides up to 50 per cent subsidy on plant costs to small and marginal farmers.

However, there are some major hindrances in the strawberry cultivation. A great amount of labour is involved including plantation care of the saplings, weeding and covering the soil with straw, irrigation, protection of fruit against wet soil, birds and cater-pillars plucking the delicate fruit packing and forwarding. Besides the fruit has a very short shelf life of 4 to 5 days and has yet to develop a proper acceptable market for its consumption in and around the district.