Hybrid bitter gourd farming increases in Tangail

The hybrid variety of bitter gourd cultivation is increasing in the hilly areas of Tangail due to low production costs and high prices.

Due to favourable weather conditions and timely maintenance, there has been a bumper crop of gourds this year in the district.

According to the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Tangail, various crops including lemon, brinjal, mustard and banana were cultivated regularly in Ghatail, Madhupur, Sakhipur, Dhanbari upazilas and surrounding hilly areas within the district.

Bitter gourd cultivation in these areas has increased tremendously over the years due to higher yield in a short period of time. Some farmers have taken to intercropping alongside bitter gourd cultivation for extra profit.

Bitter gourd plants start yielding about 10 weeks after plantation. About 15 maunds of bitter gourd can be harvested every three days from one bigha of land. Per maund bitter gourd sells for Tk 1,500-2,000.

In various hilly areas of Tangail, bitter gourd is cultivated along the roadsides and various crop fields. Rows of lofts have been made to prevent the rotting of bitter gourds. To keep the plant healthy and to get a good yield, farmers irrigate the land regularly with pumps.

Farmer Jamal Miah of Gopinpur Ashairachala village in Ghatail upazila used to cultivate banana, brinjal, mustard and other crops on 45 decimals of land.

“I started cultivating bitter gourd on my land with a production cost of Tk 1.5 lakh. Now I can harvest about 20-15 maunds of bitter gourd every three days,” he said adding that he expects to sell a total of Tk 4 lakh worth of bitter gourd this season.

Also later gourd and beans can be cultivated in the same loft which reduces additional costs.

Robi Khan of the same village said he got a bumper yield on his 30 decimal of land this year and the prices are also good.

“I spend an additional Tk 2,500 per week on pesticides and Tk 2,000 more on fertilisers. However, bitter gourd is less expensive than other crops but more profitable,” he added.

Farmer Mecher Ali said, “I just started harvesting. I can harvest for the next two months. I have hired workers for harvesting the vegetable from my 50 decimals of land.”

Wholesalers Aktar Ali and Billal Hossain said that hybrid bitter gourd has a good demand all over the country.

They buy the vegetables directly from local farmers for Tk 1,200-2,000 per maund and export them to different districts including Dhaka, Cumilla and Sylhet.

According to district agricultural officials, due to the soil compatibility of the hilly areas, farmers get a bumper yield of bitter gourd.

Last year, 8,761 tonnes of bitter gourd were produced in the district from 655 hectares of land. This year farmers expanded cultivation to over 720 hectares of land.

Tangail DAE Deputy Director Ahsanul Basar said that bitter gourd can be cultivated in the district’s hilly and grassland areas. The farmers are advised in all matters by the upazila agriculture offices. Apart from this, the local agricultural officials make regular field trips to help the farmers.