Strawberry(s)

Strawberry – Fragaria x ananassa

 

Classed as not technically a fruit, but a false fruit, which basically means that the flesh of the strawberry is not grown from the ovary but from some adjacent tissue, other examples of false fruits are apples, pears, figs, and pomes.

 

Strawberries were first cultivated as a cross between the two species known as Fragaria virginiana and Fragaria chiloensis in early 18th century France. Today, this cross has foir commercial use been replaced by the cross between Fragaria x ananassa and its many different cultivars. For commercial use strawberries are also fed with artificial fertilizers, both before planting and before and after harvesting. It should be noted that the harvesting and cleaning process has not changed much over the years, strawberries are still harvested by hand and cleaned by means of water streams and shaking conveyor belts.

 

There are over 200 different kinds of pests that are known to attack strawberries, these include different kinds of slugs, moths, fruit flies, mites, and others. Strawberries can also fall victim to a number of different diseases including powdery mildew, leaf spot, leaf blight, and a large variety of slime mold.

 

The largest producers of strawberries in the world today are the United states (1.1M tonnes), Spain (263K tonnes), and Turkey (250K tonnes). Some people have allergies towards strawberries, the symptoms can be oral allergy syndrome, mimic hay fever, and can also include dermatitis or hives, and can also in severe cases cause breathing problems.

 

Strawberries are not only easy to grown and can be grown nearly anywhere in the world, they are also versatile and has a lot of different ways to be consumed, including fresh, frozen, dried, in dairy products such as milk, ice cream, milkshakes, smoothies and yogurt, they can also be used in pies and cakes. Strawberries also contain high levels of flavonoids, which has high antioxidant values, and vitamin C, which is necessary for survival in all humans.