Ultra-high tech gains tract

The ultra-high-density plantation (UHDP) technology is becoming popular in Chapainawabganj as this allows more trees to be planted in a smaller land and a better harvest.

The UHDP technology uses dwarf scion varieties of trees along with efficient pruning to make the best use of space.

Using this technology makes it easier to produce export quality mangoes. As mangoes fetch better prices in the international market, exporting them fetches better profit for the farmers.

Chapainawabganj Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) sources said this year, mango has been cultivated on 38,000 hectares of land in the district with a target of producing 3,25,000 tonnes of mango. The total number of trees in this area is about 55-60 lakh, including the orchards that use UDHP technology.

Last year, 250,000 tonnes of mangoes were produced on 35,000 hectares of land in the district while 245,000 tonnes of mangoes were produced in 33,000 hectares of land in 2020.

With the growing popularity of UHDP technology, some orchard owners have cut down old trees to plant trees using the technique.

The Chief Scientific Officer of the regional Horticulture Research Centre, Dr Kamrul Islam, has been researching UHDP technology for a long time. He said this technique was first used in South Africa and was later improved by Indian scientists.

“If two trees can be planted in a 20 feet space in the conventional method, each tree producing an average of 10 kg mangoes. But six trees can be planted in the same space using the UHDP technique and each tree will produce an average of 8 kg mangoes,” he added.

Kamrul said, “Ultimately the farmer will get 2-3 times higher yield than the conventional method. It also takes only three years for the UHDP trees to reach full harvest potential.”

He further said that due to the height of the trees it is easier to bag all the fruits which help to mitigate pest problems and other diseases.

District DAE’s Additional Deputy Director (Crop) Rajibur Rahman said the geological location, soil and weather of Chapainawabganj are suitable for using the UHDP technique in mango cultivation.

Using this technology ensures that the mangoes are cultivated according to the internationally-recognised Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and can be exported.

“We encourage more farmers and orchard owners to use the UHDP system to ensure more harvest. Our department provides advice, training and all kinds of support in this regard,” he said.

Ismail Khan Shamim, a mango grower and exporter of Chapainawabganj, has been successful in mango cultivation using the UHDP technology. He is the general secretary of Shibganj Mango Producers Cooperative Society Limited.

The entrepreneur established an orchard on four bighas of land following Israel’s UHDP system and using an indigenous irrigation method. There are about 1,000 mango trees of the perennial Katiman variety in his orchard.

“I follow the Israeli UHDP system but do not use the drop irrigation system since it is not suitable for our country. I cultivate the Katiman variety because it bears fruit all the year round,” he said.

According to Ismail, in the first year of cultivation, he spent Tk 58,000. And on average, Tk 26,000 in the previous two years for irrigation and maintenance. He expects a hefty profit from the estimated 35-40 maunds of mango harvest from his orchard this year.

The entrepreneur further said that trees had been bearing fruit since the first year and after five years about 4-5 tonnes of mango can be cultivated from per bigha of land.

“Various common varieties of mangoes including Langra, Amrapali, Gaurmati, BRRI Mango-4, BRRI Mango-11, Katiman, Haribhanga, and Banana can be cultivated using this method. It is easy to take care of and maintain the dwarf trees,” Ismail added.

He said this technology makes the best use of vertical and horizontal spaces and harness the maximum possible returns per unit of inputs and resources.

The UHDP technology ensures enhanced productivity and quality of fruits and reduces labour costs, resulting in a low cost of production. It also makes maintenance and harvesting easy and helps obtain an export quality of the harvest.