The Israeli breeder of the world's heaviest strawberry, recently certified by the Guinness Book of World Records, Dr. Nir Dai is delighted by the sheer size of his creation. Dr Dai, a researcher from the Israel's Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), at the Volcani Center in Bet-Dagan, near Tel-Aviv told FreshPlaza this unusually large strawberry was developed under a unique set of circumstances.
The world’s heaviest strawberry, weighing in at 289 g (10.19 oz), was grown by Ariel Chahi, in Israel. It is bigger and heavier than your average mobile phone,18 cm long, 4 cm thick and 34 cm in circumference.
This strawberry is of the Ilan variety and was grown by the Ariel family business "Strawberries in the Field" (תות בשדה משק אריאל), located in Kadima-Zoran, Israel. Chahi found the supersized strawberry, which was officially weighed on 12 February 2021. The Guinness World Record only confirmed the record during early February 2022 allowing Chahi to boast proudly and officially about his giant strawberry find.
The Ilan variety of strawberry was bred, selected and tested over a 5 year period by Dr. Nir Dai, a researcher from the Israel's Agricultural Research Organization (ARO), at the ARO Volcani Center in Bet-Dagan, near Tel-Aviv. He said this unusually large strawberry was developed under a unique set of circumstances. “Due to the cold weather in 2021 the crucial growing stages from flower to ripening was delayed. It took around 45-50 days in the ripening stage because of the weather and the cultivar. Some berries can make this phenotype but Ilan in its first flush saw some flowers fusing together and you get this huge round strawberry,” explained Dr Dai.
“Ilan was commercialised 4 years ago mainly in Israel. It is currently being tested in Spain, California, Mexico and South Africa for yield, production season and fruit quality. Hopefully they will introduce it commercially. The strawberry crop in Israel is small, with less than 200 growers and a little more than 400 hectares. Ilan is a late cultivar, which depending on planting is ready about 1 month later than the early cultivars,” explains Dr Dai.
Of course the question remains, did the record breaking Ilan strawberry taste as good as it looks?
“Ilan berries are firm and sweet and have a long storage life. Here in Israel when growers mark and sell the different varieties of strawberries at farm stalls, Ilan berries are sought after by the public. In the Israel retail space, the strawberry packaging is generic with little consumer recognition. Unfortunately, the record-breaking strawberry was never tasted as it is frozen and kept for display purposes by the Guinness organisation,” says Dr Dai.
For more information:
Dr. Nir Dai
Agricultural Research Organization
Tel: +972 3 968 3462
Email: [email protected]
www.agri.gov.il/en/people/590.aspx
