An innovative mango cultivation

Nurjahan Garden, a 26-acre orchard with a variety of local and foreign mangoes, now familiarises remote Shola village in Baufal upazila under the district, thanks to the initiative of two brothers Shahadat Hossain Nuton and Shahbaj Hossain Milton.

The garden, also adorned with a number of flower trees, is now producing at least 50 varieties of mangoes, including 35 foreign ones.

During a visit to the farm on Tuesday, this correspondent saw varieties of mangoes including haribhanga, caint, honeydew, mohachanak, gopalbhog, rani akond, hybrid-10, latabombai, kachamisty, kalemer, lengra and fazlee.

'King of Chakapat', a rare variety costly mango, also saw fruition there, for the first time this year.

It was planted three years ago, after collecting the sapling from Thailand through the Directorate of Agriculture Extension in Dhaka at a cost of Tk 10,000.

Several other foreign varieties of mangoes, including those locally called 'banana mango', 'Totapuri', 'apple mango' and 'surjodim' are also growing in the orchard.

"We set the farm 10 years ago and named it Nurjahan Garden after our mother's name. Many people from home and abroad visit the garden every year," said Shahbaj Hossain Milton.

"In the winter, students from nearby educational institutions come here for picnic and on study tour. It is very interesting to see mango trees with fruition all the year round. "We have proved that all kinds of mangoes can be grown in the coastal area," he said.

"The produces bring us good profit," he added.

Dr Mahbub Rabbani, teacher of agriculture department of Patuakhali Science and Technology University, said now many local people are opting for fruit cultivation as it brings better profit than traditional farming.

Soil, water and weather in the region are very suitable for fruit cultivation, he added.