Ranchi: Strawberries, one of the costliest fruits in the market, may soon find its way to the common man's household. The district horticulture office is all set to start strawberry farming in the city, which if successful, will lead to a huge drop in the prices of much sought-after fruit.At present, strawberries are available only in the months of December and January and costs around Rs 280 per box, which contains roughly a dozen strawberries.District horticulture officer AK Mishra said, "We are preparing to start cultivating strawberry as a demonstration. We have identified an area of 1,000 sq metres in Ormanjhi for the purpose."The department has invited expression of interest (EoI) from private agencies to begin strawberry cultivation. "The government will provide land and infrastructural facilities to the private agency which will in turn begin the cultivation," Mishra said.Strawberry is cultivated in temperatures ranging between 16 degree Celsius to 25 degree Celsius, so the department plans to begin farming with the onset of winter this year. And as the fruit becomes ready for harvesting in a span of four to five weeks of blossoming, it is most likely to appear in the markets by year end."If the demonstration is successful and the quality is good, we will expand the strawberry cultivation across the state and invite farmers to join in," Mishra said.

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