KALRO Gooseberry

Introduction Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.)

In 2010, Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (now Kenya Agricultural & Livestock Research Organization (KALRO)) classified cape gooseberry as an underutilized fruit in Kenya. It was ranked by stakeholders as the 7th most important underutilized fruit. This fruit may have been introduced into Kenya through bird migratory corridors from Europe and Southern hemisphere, or recently as imports by local supermarkets. The centre of origin of this crop is in South America (Peru, Columbia and Ecuador) where it moved to England in 1774 (Morton, 1987) and Cape of Good Hope before 1807. This fruit grows wild as an understory shrub in forest areas of Mount Kenya, Mount Elgon, Timboroa Forest, Kakamega Forest, Koibatek Forest, Coastal lowlands and is wildly distributed in the highlands of Kenya. Gooseberry has been sold on the road side in the Rift Valley by youth since early 2,000. Between 2004 and 2006 cape gooseberry was grown on large-scale in Kibwezi and the fruit was processed by Delmonte to make jam. It is important to note that cape gooseberry, goldenberry, or yellow berry was classified as one of the 100 crops selected for commercialization in Kenya’s The Big 4 Agenda.