A new variety of Strawberry is now being cultivated in Bangladesh.
Strawberry is one of the economically important edible fruits through out the world. It is ranked high among small fruits, esteemed as dessert and consumed for its flavour. The fruit contains a higher vitamin C concentration than orange or lemon. Several species of the genus are being cultivated for commercial purpose. Fragaria x ananassa Duch. (family Rosaceae) is one of the most popular strawberry species occurring in the temperate and subtropical region of the of the world. Fragaria x ananassa produces bright red fruits (a modified thalamus) in May–June. It is edible, sweetsour in taste and consumed raw. The strawberry fruits have potential to be used as jam, jelly, syrup and as a foundation in beverage and ice creams.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Rosales
Family: Rosaceae
Genus: Fragaria
Species: F. × ananassa
Binomial name:Fragaria × ananassa
The genus Fragaria is propagated by seeds and runners. Propagation by seeds is not adopted commercially as seedlings take a longer time to fruit than plants propagated by runners. Plant propagation through runner, adopted in several species of the genus, produces a limited number of propagules. Although production of propagules through runner has been reported to contribute 90% of total Dutch strawberry production, the product in Elsanta cultivars was found to be susceptible to several fungal diseases.
Initiation of Bangladeshi Strawberry
Strawberry is one of the most popular fruits in the world. It has been recently introduced in Bangladesh. Plant Breeding and Gene Engineering Laboratory, Dept of Botany, Rajshahi University, as been initiated a research programme since 1998, to develop strawberry (Fragaria xananssa) varieties suitable for cultivation in Bangladesh weather condition. Considerable progress has been achieved and three genotypes have selected through the induction of somaclonal variation. The selected genotypes are proved to be adaptive to Bangladesh and have high yield potential with very good quality fruits. In view of the potential commercial value, it is highly desirable to develop methods for rapid, efficient and large-scale multiplication of these strawberry genotypes using plant tissue culture technique.
