India wants to join the strawberry superpowers
BBC
India's strawberry industry, concentrated in Mahabaleshwar, relies entirely on imported plant varieties from the US and Europe, but researchers at an agricultural university are using gamma irradiation to develop a domestic climate-resilient cultivar. The breeding program could take 10–15 years to produce results. Meanwhile, some farmers are adopting hydroponics and AI-powered weather monitoring to reduce losses and increase yields, though such technologies remain out of reach for most small-scale growers.
Why it matters
Indian strawberry farmers rely on varieties imported from the US and Europe, but that could change.