WEST LAFYETTE, Ind. — While strawberries play an important role in communities throughout Indiana, the number of strawberry growers in the state continues to decrease.
Wenjing Guan, a clinical and engagement assistant professor of horticulture at Purdue University, said the number of strawberry growers in Indiana went from 233 in 2007 to 199 in 2017. The number of strawberry acres went from 415 to 254.
“Where did they go? Why did they disappear?” Guan asked, then answering the question: It is due to production in California and Florida.
Another reason for the decrease is because of extreme weather conditions over the past few years, Guan said.
Guan said the weather is partly to blame since growers began to stop traditional row cropping and either stop growing strawberries or find another system that works to grow strawberries in this climate.
Some of those other systems include growing strawberries in high tunnels or through a plastic system.
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/shawmedia/7d1be492-5db3-44b4-91da-f8148fa26eb2.png)