INTERNATIONAL: An Israeli farmer has grown the world's heaviest strawberry, according to Guinness World Records.

At 289 grams, the strawberry was about five times the average weight of a berry of this variety, said Nir Dai, a researcher and strawberry breeder at Israel's Volcani Institute where the strain was developed.

The strawberry was 18 centimeter long, 4 centimeter thick and 34 centimeter in circumference, according to the record book's website. It has looked like several berries fused at the green leafy cap, forming the shape of a hand-held fan.

Chahi Ariel, who found the record-breaking strawberry at the Ariel family farm, located in the Kadima-Zoran local council says its uplifting and they have been waiting for it for a long time.

Cold weather conditions in early 2021 has slowed the record-breaking strawberry's ripening process, allowing it to continue gaining weight, Ariel has added.

This kind of strawberry, called Ilan, tends to grow large, and temperature highly affects its growth.The fruit is heaviest in the winter, and can weigh up to 60 grams, researcher and strawberry breeder Nir Dai has said.

The giant strawberry was found a year ago and kept in a freezer until now, until the record was confirmed, the excited Chahi Arield has said. The previous record was held by a Japanese farmer who discovered a strawberry weighing 250 grams in his harvest in 2015.