Strawberries: An increase in cultivated acreages

June 9, 2018 at 3:05 PM , Starry Night Ltd.
Will more land allocated for cultivation lead to a higher yield?
Will more land allocated for cultivation lead to a higher yield?
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SOFIA. Whether farmers will collect a higher output on the background of a larger cultivated nationwide area remains to be seen.

BULGARIA. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, by the beginning of June 2018, harvested area of strawberries reached 605 ha out of 1,057 ha available for the current season. At that time of the marketing year, estimates of national yield stood at close to 6 mt/ha, which was by 3.7% lower than the one from the previous harvest; while aggregate production reached 3,614 mt.

Strawberries: Will size beget size?

For the current marketing season, out of a period of at least five years, local farmers allocated more land for strawberries. Hopes were centred around the realisation of higher yields, potentially leading to a larger national output. However, not only larger areas, but also the access to water reserves – received from natural forces or man-made water pools – is crucial for collecting a higher yield. On the background of the recent fickle weather conditions, whether farmers’ wishes will be realized as planned remains to be seen.

  Harvested land & aggregate output of strawberries, yearly

                  (period 2014 – by 31 of May 2018)

     area units in HA / output units in MT / yield units in MT/HA

Harvested area 2014

Harvested area 2015

Harvested area 2016

Harvested area 2017

Harvested area 2018*

      672

       756

       670

       655

       605

                                    Aggregate output

     4,203

     4,999

     5,150

     5,359

     3,614

                                      Aggregate yield

      6.25

      6.61

      7.69

      8.18

      5.97

* current harvest estimates

 

Source: Bulgarian Ministry of Agriculture

Throughout the country, the majority of strawberries are cultivated in the open air, as meagre quantities are produced in-house or in specially designed houses of glass or other suitable material. For instance, during harvest 2017-18, farmers collected 5,319 mt of strawberries, which were grown in the open air, while only 40 mt came from in-house structures.

Looking at the geographical distribution of strawberries’ cultivated land within the country, farmers allocate the highest share of plots within in the central South, followed by the central North and Northwest. The largest share of output is thus realized in the aforementioned regions, following in the same order sequence.

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