Rotting disease frustrates sunflower growers
Sunflower growers in the district are facing losses this season as the plants are rotting during the ongoing harvesting period.
"I cultivated sunflower on three bighas of land at a cost of Tk about 15,000 this year. It is now harvesting season but the plants are dying as the stems started rotting two weeks ago. Besides, sizes of flowers are very small this year," said Habib Howlader of Ballavpur village in Patuakhali Sadar upazila.
"Last year I made a profit of Tk over 10,000 by selling sunflower after meeting family need for the whole year but this season I lost all.
"I brought the seeds from Patuakhali Sadar upazila agriculture office. I think the seeds were of low quality," he said.
Kabir Matubbor, another farmer of nearby Karomjatala village, said he cultivated local variety of sunflower on one and a half acres of land this year but the flowers grew very small and most plants have already rotten.
Visiting the sunflower fields in different villages yesterday, this correspondent found many other sunflower growers including Ohab Gazi, Nurul Islam Matubbor and Abu Hanif also in the same boat.
Farmers cultivate sunflower to meet their yearly family demand of edible oil as well as on commercial basis as it sells for good prices in the market.
Abdul Awal, deputy assistant agriculture officer of Patuakhali Sadar upazila, said sunflower cultivation requires much irrigation but farmers were waiting for rain that remained much less than expected this season.
In absence of rain and irrigation, salinity increased in the field and the sunflower plants started rotting, causing poor yield this season, he said.
In Patuakhali district, 530 hectares of land was brought under sunflower cultivation this year, said sources of district agriculture extension office.
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