Ranchi, March 11: In the not-so-distant future, Jharkhand could well wake up to strawberry fields forever. The four-year-long efforts of the Palandu-based Horticulture and Agro-Forestry Research Programme (HARP) seems to have finally paid off with scientists identifying a specific plant variety of the world’s favourite dessert flavour that has the potential to flourish in Jharkhand.

“We have identified the Douglas variety of strawberry that can grow in Jharkhand’s climate and soil conditions very well,” said Shivendra Kumar, chief scientist at HARP.

The centre has come to this conclusion after it cultivated the Douglas variety in about half-an-hectare. It found the variety to be best suited for Jharkhand’s soil and climate. It would also give a high yield.

HARP started off with getting as many as 33 varieties of strawberries from the Indian Agriculture Research, Shimla, and testing them in Jharkhand. The Douglas variety would work, provided it was allowed to flower in shade because of the state’s particularly harsh summers.

Usually, the crop is planted in September and starts bearing fruit from early January to March-end. Besides, the crop requires anti-fungal soil treatment to ensure it stays infection free.

“This year, we have prepared as many 6,000 seedlings (runners_ each plant bears 10 runners) and distributed them among 15 farmers for plantation,” said Vikas Das, a fruit scientist at HARP.

Known for their unmistakable flavour, strawberries enjoy a huge demand in ice cream and juice-making industries. Besides, they are also used to prepare flavoured drinks such as milkshakes.

The fruit earns anywhere between Rs 120 to Rs 150 per kg. For juicy varieties, the price could be higher.

HARP is now concentrating on improving yield. “We are now conducting research on how to get more production from a lesser area. We are developing a plantation system for higher yield,” added Kumar.

Considered delicate, strawberries cannot be subjected to long-distance transport. Hence, the state would have to create a ready market within its own cities.

“Ranchi has to grow up. It should also develop several food-processing units before farmers take up strawberry cultivation in a big way,” Kumar noted.

Not quite “cherries and an angel’s kiss in spring” as Nancy Sinatra prescribed in Summer Wine, but strawberries could well open up new dreams for mineral-rich Jharkhand in the next decade. Who knows, strawberries from here could soon vie with those from, say, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.