Strawberry farming in kenya

 Species: Frageria x ananasa
Family: Rosaseae

Introduction:

The strawberry plant was initially a temperate zone plant but has adapted well to the warmer regions. It’s cultivation has become popular throughout the world. Breeding for new varieties which can be grown under wide range of climate has been done. Currently strawberry production is mainly for the export market, however local market and cottage/home industry is opening up.

 

Common Varieties:

Variety Name:	Characteristics:
Chandler Strawberry:	The vigorous, high-yielding, Chandler strawberry plants produce very desirable strawberries. Chandler strawberries are very large, firm, and produce within 60 -75 days. The strawberries vary from being long and wedge-shaped to large and conical. They are a brilliant red color, glossy, and have an exceptional flavor Chandler strawberries are good for eating fresh or shipping and are very good for freezing. They are, however not the best for processing.
Douglas Strawberry:	Vigorous plant, clear foliage and semi-erect habit.Great fruits, of elongate conical shape and orange red colour. Firm flesh, red-coloured with pink centre, good taste and resistance to transport damages. High yielder.
Aiko Strawberry:	Uniform, large, long fruit, of conical shape, with a pointed end, firm flesh, pale red colour, slightly sweet, very resistant to transport and high yield.
Pajaro Strawberry:	It is short day variety that has a symmetrical shape, colour and flavor. It is late maturing,with low production hence not popular.
Fern Strawberry:	It is a day neutral variety that is high yielding with firm skin and sweet berry. Good for fresh market and processing.
Cambridge Favourite Strawberry:	Produces many runners, small sized berries that are sweet, resistant to most diseases.

 Ecological Requirements:

Altitude: 1250 - 2200 east of the rift valley.
Temperatures: - 10 - 30⁰C
Rainfall
-Well distributed 1200mm. Where rainfall is less than this irrigation is necessary at 25mm/week. The crop does not tolerate drought. Irrigation by drip increases the yields, improves the size and appearance of berries and prolongs the harvest period.
Soils:
-Grows on wide range of well drained soils. Although, deep sandy loams, rich in humus are most ideal, with good moisture retaining capacity. The drainage should be sufficient to keep the water level at least 80 - 100cm below the soil surface. Poor drainage makes the strawberries weak and susceptible to diseases..
The ideal soil pH range is 5.5 - 6.5.  Avoid saline soils.
Suitable growing areas: include Kiambu, Nyeri, Nairobi, Kirinyaga, Kitale, Kericho, Naivasha, Molo, Embu, Kinangop, Sagana, Kitengela, Athi River etc.
‘Douglas’: Californian origin.
-Precocious, vigorous plant, clear foliage and semi-erect habit. Great fruits, of elongate conical shape and orang-red colour. Firm flesh, red-coloured with pink centre, good taste and resistance to transport. High yielding.

Cultural Practices:

Good Agricultural Practices

International regulations on food safety and social accountability in the production of fresh produce are becoming ever stricter. Consumers are becoming more and more particular about the quality, safety and reliability of the fresh products they buy. The main buying countries require the implementation of GAP. The GAP guidelines aim at producing a product that is safe, environment friendly and socially acceptable and of high quality. The following are the guidelines which are supposed to be implemented by the farmers and exporters.

• Keep up to date farm production records in order to maintain consumer confidence in food quality and safety.
• Apply proper crop protection strategies in order to reduce the use chemicals.
• Observe the required standards during pesticide application in order to protect the health and safety of the sprayer.
• Observe the required standards during transportation, storage and disposal of pesticides in order to minimize detrimental impact on the environment while conserving nature and wildlife.
• Observe hygiene requirements during harvesting and postharvest handling of produce.
• Adhere to regulations of wages and employment act
• Adhere to environment protection regulations.

Land Preparation:

Double digging is recommended to break the hard pan and improve soil structure. Beds should be one (1) meter wide by any desirable length with a path of 50cm wide between beds. Incorporate 15kg of well decomposed manure per meter squared. Level the beds using a rake, and water the whole bed in preparation for planting. The bed preparation should be done one month prior to planting.

Propagation and planting:

Strawberries are vegetatively propagated through splits and runners’ .Splitting is the most common method used to propagate strawberries, seeds are rarely used because most are not viable, and the few that are viable take a long time to reach a good transplanting height.  Before planting work the soils so that there is deep and a reasonably loose planting bed.

Splits treatment:

• Trim the leaves
• Trim the roots
• Dip the split in a fungicide solution for 24Hr prior to planting e.g ridomil, pearl, cotaf, master,etc to prevent fungal infections

Prior to planting dip the split in clean water for 30 minutes.

Spacing:

Dig holes of approximately 7.5cm deep, 30cm between rows and 30cm between plants giving a plant population of 75,000 plants per Ha. Apply 2gms/hole of a recommended nematicide e.g mocap , bionematode, nembedicine etc.

Planting:

The crown is very short and will not tolerate deep planting. Roots should not be allowed to dry. The middle of the crown should be level with the top of the soil. Soil should be watered after planting to set the strawberry plants in the ground (Avoid watering plants directly.  Drip irrigation works best). After the initial watering, the soil will settle and the soil line should be even with the bottom of the crown as indicated in the picture.

Weed Control/Field hygiene:

At planting time, the soil should be weed free. After planting, weekly cultivation is recommended to remove weeds when they are small. Regularly remove all the diseased runners and leaves.

Fertilizer Application:

Avoid planting with fertilizers to avoid dehydration of the splits, since the plant goes into dormancy for 14 day. Within the first month deflower the first flowers and the second flowers to prevent premature fruiting. After 30 days fix CAN 10gms per hole in between the plants. The second month, top dress with NPK 17:17:17, 10gms (1 tablespoon) per hole between the plants. Fertilizers should be used to maintain soil fertility and maximize plant growth and fruit production. Strawberry being a heavy feeder needs to be regularly boosted with foliar feeds e.g easygrow vegetative, flower and fruit, calcium to firm the skin of the fruit and to decrease fruit deformities. Strawberries are self pollinating but cross pollination achieves a better yield.
NB: Do not over fertilizer or you will have excessive leaf growth and poor flowering.

Mulching:

Mulching help conserve ground moisture, keep fruit clean and adds humus to the soil. Avoid placing mulch when the plant is too young.  Wheat straw or hay can be used for strawberry mulch. Do not use black plastic since it will raise the soil temperature and optimal fruit production requires cool soil.

Prunning:

During the cold and rainy season, the strawberries go into a rest period, at this stage all old and diseased leaves are removed off the plant to reduce infection from diseases or pests increase aeration and allow re-growth of foliage. Removed leaves should be collected and burnt outside the field. Cut off runners regularly except for those needed for planting. One or two runners can be rooted for the next planting. After seven month thin the plants to leave the mother and three daughters. The thinning can be established elsewhere.

Irrigation:

-In the first month of establishment water daily in the evening for 30 days. This will help in root establishment and initial vegetative growth. From the second month onwards, after applying mulch, water twice or thrice a week depending on the weather. Best method of watering is through drip ,watering can or low pressure hose pipe.
NB: high pressure sprinkler cause flower abortion, fruit bruises and contributes to fungal diseases on the leaves.

Maturity and Harvesting:

Maturity of strawberries is a function of the temperatures prevailing during the growth period. The warmer the temperature the faster the maturity. Maturity period ranges from 75 - 90 days depending on the variety.
Berries should be picked when they are completely ripe or half ripe. All ripe berries should be picked otherwise they become overripe or rotten by the next picking. Avoid crushing the fruits at picking. This can be achieved by use of a clean and firm container. Pre cool the fruits to avoid dehydration and deterioration. For fresh market the strawberries are sold in punnets ( 250 gms) or in weight basis. Strawberries deteriorate rapidly after harvest. Pick fruits every two days as fruits ripen quickly. Deterioration can be slowed down by pre- cooling the berries and storing at temperatures below 4⁰centigrade.for the small scale farmer use a charcoal cooler.

Post harvest handling:

Packhouse practices
Sorting - done in the field and involves the removal of damaged and misshapen and dirty fruits. Remove all the fruits without a calyx.
Pre - cooling; This is done to remove the field heat, to minimize deterioration. At small holder level, farmers can use charcoal coolers. For distance markets, forced air pre-cooling will be necessary.

Grading:
The fruits are graded into different sizes for marketing.
According to the shape and the size
1^st grade:  6 - 9 fruits per punnet.
2^nd grade:  15 - 25 fruits per punnet
3^rd grade:  28 - 32 fruits per punnet
Under sizes can be processed into jam or juice.

 

Packaging:

Strawberries are packed into the punnets in readiness for the market.
NB: avoid washing the fruits in the packhouse since it destroys the skin and hastens deterioration.

Yields:

An average yield of 25,000 kg/ha can be achieved in the first year and 18,750 and 12,500 in the second and third year respectively. The plants should be renewed by the end of the third year.

 

Pests and Disease:

Disease	Pictorial of damage	Control measures	Post harvest interval
Leaf spot: mcosphaerella fragariae -Grey spots with purple margins appear on on leaves.		Destroy crop residue after harvest, practice crop rotation, plant clean seed. Spray with master,pearl	Master- 5 Pearl - 7
Verticillium wilt: veticillium dahhae -Yellow and wilted leaves; stunted plant.		Practice crop rotation and avoid areas where potatoes, tomatoes; egg plants have previously been grown.
Grey mould: Botritis cinerea -Soft rot of fruits and grey mould on infected plants.		Spray with cotaf and sulcop	Cotaf - 7 Sulcop - 14
Black root rot:		Black root rot is favored by wet soils and soils low in organic matter. As a result, proper site selection and preparation are both important management tools for this disease complex.
Red spider mite: tetranynchus urticae -Greyish brown mites found on lower surface of leaves		Spray with Dicofol,Vipcomic.
Beetles: Epicauta spp -Bores on fruits		Decis,Tata alfa, Dimethoate,
Crown borer: Tyloderma fragariae -Makes holes on the crown		Dimethoate, tata alpha
Ants: Lasius niger -Sucks moisture from the root zone and tip of the branches. The plant eventually dries due to lack of water and nutrients		Mocap, bionematon	Mocap - 1 Bionematon - 1
Leaf hoppers: typhlocyha pomaria -Chews on the leaves		Atom, tata umeme	Atom - 1 Tata umeme - 3
Birds -Eats the ripe berries thus lowering yields and quality.		Use fish net
Slugs and snails: Arion ater -Eat fruits thus lowering yields and quality		Alcoholic bait

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Marketing:

Market Outlet:

Strawberries are sold in Supermarkets such as Tuskey, Uchumi, Nakumat, Naivas etc.
Hotels: Such as Serena, Norfolk, Safaripark, and all the tourist lodges countrywide are a good market.
Hospital: Such as Getrudes, Aga-khan; Nairobi, Karen hospital, Kijabe hospital etc
Green grocers: That buy strawberries are: Corner shop, Zuchini, City park, City market, Spring valley etc.

Food Processors: Such as Trufood, Zesta

Milk processors: e.g Limuru processor. Others such as Brookside, Fresha, KCC, etc are potential buyers since they import their strawberries due to lack of volumes and unreliability of supply.

Market prices:
250gms:- Kshs. 50 - 120
1kg:-  Kshs. 200 - 480

Value Addition:

The fruits are eaten fresh, or canned, processed into jams and juices, milk shake, yoghurt, cake decorations commercially used as a flavoring and in the cosmetic industry.
Used in face creams and face masks since it contains keratin. The fruits are eaten fresh, or canned, processed into jams and juices.
Commercially used as a flavoring and in the cosmetic industries.

Medicinal Value:

Strawberry has been recommended for gout, rheumatism, and liver complications, detoxification, fights cancer cell. Dried leaves are rich in calcium hence good for arthritis. Infuse leaves to make a mouth wash for gum infections and mouth ulcers and for fresh breath.
Dried leaves and roots - boiled in wine relieve diarrhea and dysentery, urinary tract infections and eases heavy periods.