Guinness Record: This 289 Gram Strawberry Grown By Israeli Farmer Is Heaviest In The World

The strawberry was 18 cm long and 34 cm in circumference. At 289 grams, the fruit is about five times the weight of an average strawberry of Israel's Ilan variety.

The 289 gram strawberry found in Israeli farmer Tzachi Ariel's field set a new Guinness World Record for the heaviest strawberry, in the Kadima village in central Israel | Photo: AFP

New Delhi: Israeli farmer Tzahi Ariel has created a Guinness World Record, by growing the world's heaviest strawberry.

The fruit from a strain developed at Israel's Volcani Institute was 18 cm long and 34 cm in circumference, according to the online Guinness entry.

At 289 grams, the fruit is about five times the weight of an average strawberry of the local Ilan variety, news agency Reuters quoted Nir Dai, a researcher at the Volcani Institute, as saying.

The fruit grew on the family farm of Israeli farmer Tzahi Ariel. Quoting him, the report said he had been hoping it was a record of sorts when the family saw how big the fruit were growing last year. 

He said he had kept the giant strawberry in the freezer as proof as he waited for confirmation on the record. 

Israeli farmer Tzachi Ariel displays a 289 grams strawberry (R) that was found in his agricultural field and set a new Guinness World Records for the heaviest strawberry, in the Kadima village in central Israel on February 17, 2022 | Photo: AFP

"When we heard, it was an amazing feeling. I jumped in the car, laughed and sang," Ariel was quoted as saying by Reuters as he displayed his certificate on a laptop. "We’ve been waiting for this for a long time."

The Guinness Book of World Records website said it was an unusually cold weather in early 2021 that slowed the ripening process of the strawberry, allowing it to continue gaining weight.

The previous record was with by a Japanese farmer who had grown a 250-gram strawberry in 2015.