Strawberry Cultivation in Saline Coastal Areas Brings Remarkable

Farmer Sabur Ali Moral has achieved remarkable success in cultivating strawberries in the saline-prone coastal area of Gopalpur village in Paikgacha upazila. He has harvested an excellent yield from his field, inspiring many others in the area to follow his example. Many residents have collected saplings and learned cultivation methods from Sabur and have started growing strawberries in pots on rooftops and in fields.

Strawberries are a juicy and delicious fruit. The strawberry plant resembles a potato plant but with larger and broader leaves. The plant produces runners that spread around and grow into new saplings. A single strawberry plant can produce hundreds of new saplings through vegetative propagation each year. When unripe, the fruit is green, turning bright red when ripe. It resembles lychee in appearance and can weigh between 5 to over 25 grams.

Strawberries are native to cold climates and yield abundantly during winter. A single plant can produce 300 to 500 grams of fruit over 3 to 4 months during the winter season. However, in Bangladesh, it is challenging to maintain the plants during the hot months from April to September.

Strawberries are rich in essential nutrients such as vitamins A, C, and E, calcium, folic acid, ferulic acid, polyphenols, and ellagic acid. Among these, ellagic acid has anti-aging, aphrodisiac, and cancer-preventing properties. In 1986, Dr. M. Munjur Hossain, a professor of Botany at Rajshahi University, introduced a short-day strawberry variety from Japan and began its cultivation in Bangladesh. He further developed the variety through years of research in the university's tissue culture lab.

Inspired by a government agricultural education tour, Sabur Moral started strawberry farming by collecting a single sapling. In 2001, he planted a tissue culture sapling and successfully maintained it in Paikgacha’s adverse climate. After tireless work, he established a full field in 2010. Between January and April 2011, he sold strawberries worth BDT 14,500. News of his success in cultivating strawberries in a saline coastal area spread, prompting a visit from Dr. Momtaz Uddin, a plant researcher from Bangabandhu Agricultural University, along with Paikgacha Upazila Agriculture Officer Bibhash Chandra Saha.

Impressed by his efforts, Dr. Momtaz Uddin remarked that Sabur was not just a farmer but also an agricultural researcher. In 2012, Sabur planted 800 saplings in his field and earned BDT 102,000 by selling 153 kilograms of fruit and saplings. He prepared strawberry beds on 3 kathas of land and also cultivated strawberries in pots on 1 katha of land. Both types of cultivation showed similar yields. The potted plants can be moved and managed as needed to produce fruit.

Sabur has also developed a local market for selling strawberries, with prices reaching BDT 600 per kilogram. Alongside caring for his own field, he supervises new strawberry farmers in nearby villages who seek his guidance. Some of these new farmers include Sudhir Sarker from Hoglar Chok, Bikash Sarker from Amurkata, Shawkat Hossain from Sanatankati, and Bishe Gazi, Noor Islam, and Nirapod Kabiraj from Gopalpur. They have started cultivating strawberries in both fields and pots.

Recognized for his success, Sabur Moral has received honors from various organizations. Regarding his achievements, Sabur said that he took up strawberry cultivation in saline land as a challenge—and succeeded. He is now encouraging local nursery owners, enthusiasts, and farmers to engage in strawberry farming and hopes to develop a "Strawberry Village" in the region. Given its profitability, many farmers and unemployed youths in the region are becoming interested in cultivating this promising crop.