6 Tips For Strawberry Farming In Kenya

Strawberry farming in Kenya is not a new thing, most farmers in various regions are practicing on small scale and kitchen garden farms, this is attributed to the easy nature of growing strawberry, short duration to mature and with less space.

Although in strawberry farming in Kenya, farmers have been quite reluctant in participating in strawberry farming in Kenya stating that the industry is not very developed, those looking into venturing into the practice are highly encouraged because it has huge income potential.

Fruits are sold locally or exported. Their demand is readily available in major urban markets, supermarkets and in marketing companies like Brookside, Trufood, KCC, among others.

Strawberries are very easy to maintain.

If you’re thinking about growing strawberries and looking for advice, you’ve come to the right place. Not only are strawberries incredibly easy to grow, but once you’ve had a little bit of practice, you’ll realize that these are fruits that can be cultivated just about anywhere, too.

Strawberry Farming In Kenya Grown Varieties

Strawberry varieties grown in Kenya include:-

• Chandler
• Tribute
• Tristar
• Tioga Selva
• Domail
• Rabunda
• Pajaro
• Douglas

Here are Tips on Growing Strawberry In Kenya Successfully

1. Choose disease resistant varieties. Some plants are not susceptible to certain diseases or are less susceptible than other varieties. Resistance or tolerance to diseases will eliminate or greatly reduce the need for disease control. Plant disease free material. Since viruses cannot be seen at the time of planting, the grower must rely on good propagation and cultural practice methods used by the nursery in producing the plants. Virus-infected plants are infected for life, and plants infected with soil-inhabiting fungi can contaminate the site for years. Buy only healthy plants from reputable nurseries.

   

2. Choose sites that have full sunlight. Avoid shaded areas. Plants need full sunlight to grow and produce fruit, but sunlight also helps the foliage and fruit to dry off quickly after a rain or heavy dew. Rapid drying will reduce fruit and leaf diseases. Ensure good air drainage and circulation within the strawberry planting speeds the drying off of plants and reduces the potential for infection. Botrytis (gray mold) requires wet foliage or fruit for infection to take place. Similarly, it is important that the soil dries out quickly after rain. Waterlogged soil increases the likelihood of disease infection in the root system. Red stele and verticillium are two soil fungi that can infect strawberry root systems more easily in wet soil.
3. Do not plant new fruit plantings below older, diseased plantings. Disease organisms such as black rot can be carried in runoff water from a diseased planting to a healthy planting. Most disease organisms that cause foliage or fruit diseases require wet surface areas for infection to take place. By speeding the drying time after rain or heavy dew, the grower can greatly reduce the potential for disease development. Two important methods for accomplishing this in a strawberry planting are to maintain narrow rows and a low plant density within each row.
4. Cultivating in a diseased planting and then moving that equipment to a healthy planting without washing the soil from the equipment can transport disease organisms between plantings. Some crops can build disease organisms in the soil, which can devastate the next crop if it is susceptible to the disease. Strawberries should not follow tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant, peppers, strawberries, raspberries or stone fruits for five years since these crops might harbour the Verticillium fungus. Avoid an area with a history of verticillium or red stele problems.
5. Mulch to conserve moisture and smoother weeds. Weeds can be a big problem in strawberry beds. Hand weeding and using a generous layer of straw mulch are the best options for control. Mulch will protect a strawberry plant from cold injury. In some cases, strawberry plants may be injured but not killed by cold temperatures. Those plants are often susceptible to black root rot. Mulch also ensures that the produce is clean.
6. Fungicide applications should be used only if other control strategies are not adequate to control the disease. Fungicide sprays will help in the control of powdery mildew and fruit rots. Harvest the fruits before overripe. The fruit rots will spread more quickly on overripe fruit. Overripe fruit also will allow a disease to build up in the planting, therefore making control more difficult.
   

Maturity, Harvesting & Post-Harvest Handling of strawberries

The crop takes about 70 days to maturity. Usually, fruits are ready for harvesting 4–6 weeks after blossoming and only the fully ripened (red) berries should be picked because they do not ripen after harvesting.

Harvesting can be done up to 3 weeks and this should produce a lot of berries, depending on the variety and the management practices employed. For instance; if well managed, a 1/8th piece of land can produce 30-50 kg of strawberries per week.

Strawberries are fragile and are easily damaged/bruised and should thus be handled carefully, for instance, when picking them from the strawberry plants.

Strawberries should picked in the morning when the fruits are cool and while dry because when wet, they mold quickly. Soon after harvesting, the berries should be stored unwashed in cool, dry place like in a refrigerator, where they can last for 5-7 days.

They can also be dried, frozen or made into jam or preserves.

For strawberry farming in Kenya, obtain seedlings by contacting +254724559286 or +254 790509684

Reference: https://www.greenlife.co.ke/