Farmers in Mahabaleshwar, the centre of India’s strawberry industry, are adopting hydroponics, weather-monitoring systems and crop research to reduce losses caused by unstable conditions. The mountainous region accounts for about 85% of India’s strawberry production, but growers still depend on imported plants and face the risk that heavy rain can destroy an entire crop.
Mahabaleshwar sits more than 1,000 metres above sea level, giving it a cool growing season from November to March. Its light, well-drained soil also supports strawberry cultivation, although plants must be replaced each season.
Farmers Depend on Imported Strawberry Plants
India has yet to develop a widely used domestic strawberry variety, leaving farmers reliant on plants originating from California, Florida, Italy and Spain. Overseas breeders can spend 10 to 15 years developing varieties with specific size, texture, flavour and climate characteristics.
Licensed propagators such as Tara Farms Fresh import certified mother plants, which pass through government quarantine before entering nurseries. Each mother plant produces runners that can yield about 20 daughter plants, although advanced growers may produce between 30 and 40.
The plants are grown above ground in gutter-like containers filled with coco peat made from coconut husks. Drip irrigation and fogging systems help nurseries manage nutrients and local growing conditions.
Researchers at Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre are working to produce an Indian strawberry variety. Their research uses controlled, low-dose gamma irradiation to create stable mutations in plant tissue, with the aim of developing fruit that retains the size and firmness of foreign varieties while tolerating Indian heat.
The process could take 10 to 15 years. In the meantime, researchers are refining planting schedules, fertiliser recommendations and growth-regulator applications for Mahabaleshwar farms.
Hydroponics Offers Protection From Seasonal Rain
Berry Fresh Agrotech founder Ketan Yashwant Sodha began testing soil-free cultivation in 2022 after repeated rainfall damaged crops during the peak season. Hydroponic systems give growers closer control over water, nutrients, light and temperature, but errors can damage plants quickly.
Sodha’s team has tested 19 varieties, including Japanese plants and a variety from the Netherlands. The farm limits each plant to 75 millilitres of water per day and conducts laboratory tests on leaves and stalks to measure nutrient absorption.
A semi-open polyhouse allows the company to produce strawberries throughout the year. Berry Fresh Agrotech is seeking investment for a five-acre site capable of holding 200,000 plants, following trials at its existing facility.
AI Forecasts Help Farmers Time Crop Treatments
Farmer Producer Organisations have installed weather towers at four locations in Mahabaleshwar. AI systems analyse the collected data to predict rainfall, helping farmers avoid spraying costly agricultural treatments shortly before rain washes them away.
Growers are also testing vertical towers filled with coco peat. Stacking five growing levels could increase planting density from 25,000 to 125,000 plants per acre.
The expense remains difficult for smaller farms. After a cyclone destroyed Sheetal Danavle’s successful hydroponic installation in 2017, she returned to open-field farming and began using social media to attract visitors who pick and purchase strawberries directly from her farm.
Featured image credits: Rawpixel.com
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