Watermelon growers in the coastal district are happy with bumper yield and satisfactory price of their produce in local markets.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Khulna said this year watermelons have been grown in 13,970 hectares of land in nine upazilas of the district.
Growers are expecting to profit over Tk 75 crore after selling the fruit during the season.
Favourable weather, irrigation facilities, adequate fertilizers and full support of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) are the main reasons for the bumper yield of the popular summer fruit, DAE office sources said.
While visiting this reporter on Saturday, farmers in Dakop upazila were seen harvesting the fruit and later loading it onto trucks, pickup and trawlers to sell in different places including Dhaka, Jashore, Khulna, Satkhira, Pirojpur, Bagerhat, Gopalganj and elsewhere in the country.
"I cultivated watermelon on one acre of land this year at a cost of Tk 30,000. I already sold watermelons of 50 decimals of land at Tk 1.20 lakh," Arup Kumar Mondal, a watermelon grower of village Bajua in Dakop, said.
"I hope to sell watermelon worth Tk 2 lakh more from the rest of the land," he added.
The fruit weighing around five-kg is selling for Tk 200 to Tk 225 this year while it was only Tk 120 to Tk 140 in last year, said Mrittunjoy Roy, a watermelon grower of Jharvanga village under Batiaghata upazila.
Growers cultivated watermelon on 13,970 hectares of land in nine upazilas in the district. Of them, Dakop and Batiaghata upazilas saw watermelon cultivation on 7,200 and 3,000 hectares respectively, said Hafizur Rahman, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE).
This year farmers face early rain that helps to earth juicy that influences bumper production. For these reasons watermelon's size was good, colour also more bright and fresh and tastier, he said.
However, many farmers had to bear additional production costs to check insects that affected the fruit, he said, adding that last year watermelons grew 20 per cent less compared with the current season due to rain.
In the peak season, wholesale traders from different areas including Dhaka come to Dakop and Batiaghata village to buy the fruit.
