The Organic
Revival
Fruits · Herbaceous

Growing strawberry

Fragaria × ananassa · also called strawberryStrawberry is a low, herbaceous fruit plant raised from runners, easy to grow in beds and pots. In the hills it is a perennial; in the plains it is grown as a winter crop, planted in autumn and picked in late winter and spring.

Deccan plateau: interior Maharashtra, Telangana, north Karnataka

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Includes AI suggestions where no published guide covers a detail
Ripe red strawberries and green berries on a potted strawberry plant mulched with straw
Photo: Kolforn · CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

Strawberry in the Deccan plateau

  • Season

    Planted in the second half of October on the Mahabaleshwar plateau, picked through winter and spring4

    Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

  • Sowing to last picking

    A one-season crop: plant runners in autumn, pick in late winter and spring, and pull out the plants before the hot weather.

    No published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

  • Plant out

    Second half of October4

    Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Across India

When to sow it

Twelve growing regions, January to December. Your region comes first.

Too late this season

The window here was Second half of October. The next one opens in October.

Sowing now in:Sub-tropical foothillsGangetic plainsSouth interior
  • Transplant
  • Harvest
  • Under cover
  • Today
  • Not suited here
Deccan plateauinterior Maharashtra, Telangana, north KarnatakaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
Compare all 12 regions
Temperate HimalayaKashmir valley, Shimla, KulluCold desertLadakh, Lahaul and Spiti · Under cover onlySub-tropical foothillsJammu, Kangra, DehradunNorth-west plainsPunjab, Haryana, DelhiGangetic plainseastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal plainsNorth-east hills and valleysAssam, Meghalaya, SikkimArid westRajasthan, Kutch, north GujaratCentral plateauMadhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, VidarbhaSouth interiorBengaluru, Mysuru, interior Tamil NaduWest coastKerala, Goa, KonkanNot suited hereEast coastcoastal Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, coastal AndhraNot suited here
Today
See the dates as a table
RegionSowNurseryTransplantHarvest
Deccan plateauSecond half of OctoberDecember to April
Temperate HimalayaAugust to SeptemberApril to June
Cold desertUnder cover onlyUnder cover: April to MayUnder cover: July to September
Sub-tropical foothillsOctober to NovemberFebruary to April
North-west plainsMid-OctoberMid-January to March (Winter Dawn)Early February to early April (Chandler)
Gangetic plainsOctober to mid-NovemberJanuary to March
North-east hills and valleysMid-September to OctoberFebruary to April
Arid westOctoberJanuary to March
Central plateauOctoberJanuary to March
South interiorSeptember to NovemberJanuary to May
West coastNot suited here
East coastNot suited here

From seed to harvest

One season, day by day

Days from sowing

  1. Day 0

    Sow

    FYM4

    15 t per ha · Apply at planting

Water little and often, since the roots are shallow. Too much water pushes leaves and runners at the cost of fruit and brings grey mould. Water in furrows between rows, or by drip or sprinkler; drip saves about 30% of water.3

What it needs

Soil, sun and warmth

  • Soil pH1,2,3

    5.8 to 6.5

    Well-drained, friable loam or medium sandy loam rich in organic matter, with a subsoil that holds moisture. Most roots stay in the top 15 to 20 cm. Heavy, clayey and waterlogged soils do not suit it. Gentle slopes suit it well.

  • SunlightNo published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

    At least 6 hours a day

    Full sun. Give beds and pots at least six hours of direct sun a day.

  • Temperature2,1Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

    Grows best at 15 to 26 °C

    Takes light frost.

    Monthly temperatures for the Deccan plateau aren't in the library yet.

Water and feeding

Watering3

Water little and often, since the roots are shallow. Too much water pushes leaves and runners at the cost of fruit and brings grey mould. Water in furrows between rows, or by drip or sprinkler; drip saves about 30% of water.

WeedingNo published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Keep beds weeded by hand in the first weeks. Straw or black polythene mulch keeps weeds down and berries clean.

WhenWhatHow muchHow
At plantingFYM15 t per haApply at planting

Sources4

Varieties and yield

Typical range3

45 to 100 quintals a hectare

Yields vary with the plot, the seed and the season.

Good neighboursNo published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Grows well with

Pests and diseases3Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Organic and cultural controls only.

  • Pest

    White grubs and cutworms

    Signs

    Grubs in the soil eat the roots and crowns; cutworms cut young plants at soil level.

    Prevention

    • Plant on land free of white grubs and cutworms

  • Pest

    Hairy caterpillars

    Signs

    Caterpillars feed on the leaves.

    What to do

    • Pick off caterpillars and egg masses by hand

  • Disease

    Leaf spot

    Signs

    Small purple spots on the leaves, later with pale centres.

    Prevention

    • Plant healthy runners
    • Remove spotted leaves

  • Disease

    Grey mould (Botrytis rot)

    Signs

    Soft brown rot on berries that grows a grey, dusty mould, worst in wet weather.

    Prevention

    • Do not over-water
    • Keep berries off the soil with mulch
    • Pick ripe and rotten berries often

Seed and the season's end

Saving seed1,2Part of this comes from the sources cited. The rest is an AI suggestion.

Strawberry is not grown from saved seed: seedlings do not come true. Keep healthy mother plants and root their runners instead.

When the seed is ready

A runner is ready to lift when it has its own roots and two or three leaves.

Plant runners soon after lifting. Raised runners can be kept in polybags until planting.

After the last pickingNo published guide covers this for the Deccan plateau, so this is an AI suggestion. Check it with local advice before you rely on it.

Pull out the plants after the last picking, before the hot weather. Compost healthy plants and bin any with root rot. Plant fresh runners on new land next autumn.

In the plains, pull out the plants after the last picking, since they do not survive the summer. Compost healthy plants; burn or bin plants with root rot.

Rotation

Do not replant strawberry on land where it grew recently: black root rot builds up in the soil.

Sources

Where this comes from

Our team has checked this guide against the sources at the end of the page.Reviewed by our team on 13 November 2026.

These published guides are the sources. Where none of them covers a detail for this region, the page shows an AI suggestion and labels it.

  1. 1Package of practices for fruit crops 2020: strawberryDirectorate of Extension, SKUAST-JammuRead the source
  2. 3Strawberry (crop report)National Horticulture BoardRead the source
  3. 4Regional Wheat Rust Research Station, Mahabaleshwar: research recommendations (strawberry)Mahatma Phule Krishi Vidyapeeth, RahuriRead the source

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