Grafting tomato plants, a path to brighter prospects

Many tomato farmers in Sylhet have secured bumper yields this year by using the grafting method to grow their crops amid favourable weather conditions.

Grafting is the act of placing a portion of one plant into or on a stem, root, or branch of another in such a way that a union will be formed and the partners will continue to grow, according to Britannica.

The purpose can be to repair injured trees, produce dwarf trees and shrubs, strengthen plants' resistance to certain diseases, retain varietal characteristics and adapt varieties to adverse soil or climatic conditions, it says.

This can be to also ensure pollination, produce multifruited or multiflowered plants, and propagate certain species, such as hybrid roses, that can be propagated in no other way, it adds.

The attempt in Sylhet was to attain higher disease resistance in order to increase overall yields.

During a recent visit to ​​Patrakhola tea garden in Madhabpur union of Moulvibazar's Kamalganj upazila, this correspondent saw vast fields dotted with ripe tomatoes.

Tomato farmers have collectively taken lease of about 100 bighas of land near the tea garden for between Tk 5,000 to Tk 7,000 per bigha.

One such farmer, Md Abdul Matin, used grafting to cultivate tomatoes on five bighas of land this year. It took about Tk 1 lakh to grow tomatoes on each bigha of land, including the cost of labour, saplings, natural pesticides and fertilisers, he said.

Matin has sold about Tk 5 lakh worth of the fruit so far while much of his harvest remains incomplete.

"Wholesalers from Habiganj, Kulaura, Sylhet, Dhaka and other places of the country came to buy tomatoes," he added.

Monir Mia, a tomato farmer from Bangaon village, said the price of tomatoes is good this time and by cultivating the fruit commercially, he has become financially stable.

Monir cultivated tomatoes on four bighas of land for about Tk 75,000 per bigha. He has sold Tk 3.5 lakh worth of the fruit so far at roughly Tk 80 per kilogramme and expects to earn another Tk 2 lakh before the season is up.

According to officials of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Moulvibazar, the grafting method was used to grow tomatoes on 83 hectares of land in the district this year with a production target of 990 tonnes.

About 22 tonnes of tomato were produced per hectare and many farmers are benefiting by selling grafted seedlings.

Mifta Mia, vegetable trader at Madhabpur bazar in Habiganj, said huge quantities of grafted tomatoes are being shipped all over the country and this is creating jobs for day labourers and farm hands at the same time.

As such, many people have found temporary employment in these fields, especially unemployed women.

"But there is potential to expand tomato cultivation further," he added.

Adhama Almik, a resident of Madhabpur Tea Garden in Kamalganj upazila of Moulvibazar, said that women get a wage of Tk 200 per day at tomato fields, which is a good way to help support their families.

Farmers are now much more interested and aware about the benefits of using technology to get higher yields, according to Abdul Momin, the agriculture officer of Kulaura upazila in Moulvibazar.

However, farmers alleged that they do not get enough support from the agriculture department.

Regarding this complaint, Kazi Lutful Bari, deputy director of the DAE office in Moulvibazar, said although people from the department do not visit farms in remote areas very often, the sub-assistant officers are always on hand.

"But there may be a communication gap that needs to be addressed," he added.

Bari went on to say that various forms of assistance are being provided to tomato growers, including free fertilisers, pesticides, and training.

Early in the season, the fruit was selling for Tk 120 to Tk 150 per kilogramme but the price has since fallen to about Tk 70 kilogramme to Tk 80 per kilogramme, he said.

Kazi Mojibur Rahman, deputy director of the DAE's Sylhet division, said they set a target to produce 314,955 tonnes of tomato on 9,949 hectares of land in the region this year. Last year, the target was set at 292,032 tonnes.

Dr Mohammad Ashraful Islam, chairman of the agricultural extension department at Sylhet Agriculture University, said farmers have been selling tomatoes at Tk 80 to Tk 100 per kilogramme this month.

After harvesting paddy, tomatoes are cultivated on the land and the crop is inspiring many farmers to start cultivating it due to its yield and lucrative market price.

So, tomato farming has gained momentum in different areas of the region and farmers are benefitting significantly, he added.

Referring to the features of grafted varieties, he said they are tolerant to high temperatures and equal to winter varieties in size, taste and flavour.