Productive purple paddy sees success
Purple paddy on 25 decimals of a demonstration plot was harvested for the first time in Sundarganj upazila on Sunday in presence of agriculture officials, experts and farmers.
Twenty-five maunds of purple paddy can be produced on one bigha of land, while other BRRI varieties produce 18 to 20 maunds, raising interest among the farmers.
Curious people thronged the demonstration plot to see the purple paddy, locally known as 'beguni dhan' for its violet colour, for the first time.
Agriculture experts and research officials from Dhaka visited the crop field and collected samples of the paddy to assess its nutritional value.
They also met the pioneer of purple paddy farming Dulali Begum of Bhabanipur village.
Widow Dulali Begum, member of local IPM Farmers Club, narrated the story of how she got the seeds.
In early 2017, Dulari visited a relative's house in Gazipur district, where she saw some violet coloured paddy. Simply from curiosity, she collected some paddy from her relative and took it home. Her relative had picked up some spikes of the coloured paddy scattered in the Boro field the previous year.
“Last year, I planted seedlings of purple paddy on one decimal of land and preserved the paddy as seeds. This season, I planted the seedlings on 25 decimals of land as per instruction of Upazila Agriculture Officer (UAO) Rashedul Islam,” Dulali said.
The purple paddy plants grow to about 90 centimetres long and have 20 to 28 spikes, each containing 200 to 313 corns, whereas HYV Boro crop has 180 to 190 corns in each spike, Rashedul said, adding that it needs 140 days for harvesting, and all the harvested paddy will be preserved as seed for farming in more areas next year.
Purple paddy contains anthocyanin, anti-oxidants, fibre and vitamin E, and there is more anti-oxidant in the paddy than in blueberry, Rashedul said.
It also helps resist aging and reduces the chance of heart disease, diabetics and cancer, the UAO said.
The paddy plants in the demonstration plot were hit by gusty winds and hail, otherwise the production would have been higher, he added.
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