Agriculture College students grow strawberries in Pune, earn double the investment

Strawberry is a sensitive plant and grows only in areas like Mahabaleshwar. However, the students have harvested 3 tonne strawberries from 20 gunthas of land and earned more than ₹4 lakh in the last two months

In a major farming experiment, a team of students from Agriculture College Pune has grown strawberries on the college campus in the heart of the city at Shivajinagar.

This is the first time when strawberries have been grown in Pune, that too in such hot weather conditions. It is part of the Agriculture College Pune’s endeavour to inculcate a professional approach in Agriculture graduates. (HT PHOTO)

Strawberry is a sensitive plant and grows only in areas like Mahabaleshwar. However, the students have harvested 3 tonne strawberries from 20 gunthas of land and earned more than ₹4 lakh in the last two months. This is the first time when strawberries have been grown in Pune, that too in such hot weather conditions. It is part of the Agriculture College Pune’s endeavour to inculcate a professional approach in Agriculture graduates.

Prof Subhash Bhalekar who heads the project said, “Through the Mahatma Phule Agricultural University, Rahuri, vice-chancellor colonel Dr Prashant Kumar Patil’s inspiration continues. As part of experience-based learning, five strains of strawberries namely Sweet Sensation, Brilliance, Elyana, Winter Dawn and Beauty were planted in October 2023 on 20 gunthas of land. All the work from planting to harvesting and sales management is being carried out by our students.”

A team of around 80 students from the last year of B.Sc. in Agriculture and Horticulture is working on this unique project, which has been carried out in Pune city by any college for the first time. Around 2.5 tonne strawberries have been harvested and sold by these students to make an income of over ₹4 lakh. For this project, the college spent around ₹2 lakh and in return, students earned almost double the money.

“Generally, harvesting of strawberries begins 80 to 100 days after planting and continues for two to two-and-a-half months. Harvesting of strawberries was started in January 2024. The average fruit yield is 350 to 450 gram per tree and each tree bears about 15 to 20 fruits. Average fruit weight is 25 to 30 grams. Sweet Sensation has the highest weight of 81 gram per fruit. About 40 to 50 kg of strawberries were harvested daily, and the college got ₹12,000 to ₹15,000 per day. Till date, the students have collected ₹4 lakh from the 20 gunthas,” Bhalekar said.

While Sunil Masalkar, associate dean of the College of Agriculture Pune, said, “Strawberries are said to be cultivated only in the Mahabaleshwar area but our students have proved that the cultivation of strawberry is possible even in Pune. Strawberry is a sensitive crop and with proper management and care, production is definitely possible. It has been pointed out that proper timing of cultivation is important for this. It is the first experiment conducted at the Agricultural College Pune and going forward, we will also be farming other berries like blueberries, raspberries etc.”