Home ›› 06 Aug 2021 ›› Nation
For the first time in Moulvibazar, a farmer braved all odds to cultivate yellow watermelon and achieved great success amid the on-going Covid-19 pandemic situation.
Abdul Matin, a farmer from Patrakhola area of Kamalganj in Moulvibazar, earned Tk 1.6 lakh till Wednesday by selling the hybrid variety in local markets.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, Abdul cultivated three varieties of hybrid watermelon in the area experimentally in May this year, and surprisingly achieved enormous success.
His initiative braving the pandemic has created interest among the farmers in the area and the DAE is now considering of spreading high yielding watermelon seeds in the other upazilas of the district.
During a visit to the area recently, it was found that Abdul has been cultivating three varieties of watermelon – black, yellow and green – on his two-bigha land. The yellow Lalteer variety and hybrid Lon Phi variety have the highest yield.
Matin said he had cultivated the three varieties of fruit on his land experimentally at cost of Tk 30,000.
He till now earned Tk 1.6 lakh by selling the fruit. He is hopeful he will be able to earn another Tk 4 lakh this season, as the weight and size of the fruit has been attracting lots of customers.
Price of the watermelons in the market is good as all the three variants have sweet taste like honey and strong fragrance.
The yield of Lon Phi variety is about three times higher than other watermelons. The weight of the fruit ranges from 3kg to 4 kg and its sweetness is much higher than other varieties.
This high yielding watermelon can be cultivated not only in summer but all year round.
The ripening time of this fruit comes in 65 to 70 days. It takes only one gram of seed per bigha. With good care, the yield can reach 30 tons to 40 tons per acre.
Moulvibazar DAE Deputy Director Kazi Lutful Bari said they will provide all kinds of support to the farmers in the district to cultivate the fruit.
Matin hopes he will cultivate the variety in future extensively. Local farmers visited his farmland and expressed interested to cultivate the variety.
