Off-season watermelon farming sees success, first time in Pirojpur
A farmer has become successful by cultivating off-season watermelon on 63 decimals of land at Pubro Bhandaria village in Bhandaria upazila.
A solvent person of the village allowed him to cultivate the fruit on his land, said grower Abu Bakar.
Bakar, 44, of Matibhanga village, has been involved with farming for around 30 years, said locals.
Bakar said he went to visit an off-season watermelon field in Pabna’s Ishwardi upazila with the help of upazila agriculture office in Bhandaria last year.
“Seeing a bumper production of the watermelon there, I was inspired to cultivate this delicious juicy fruit,” said Bakar.
In the middle of March this year, Bakar cultivated around 2,000 plants of hybrid Sweet Galaxy and Karnia variety on the land.
At different times, around 700 plants got destroyed due to pest attack, said Bakar, adding that he will be able to harvest the fruit within next two weeks.
Highest weight of each watermelon will be three kilograms, said Bakar.
“I have covered the roots of the plants with high quality polythene. As a result, heat from sun cannot harm the plants,” he said, adding that it also saves the plants from heavy rain.
Bakar also said he cultivated the fruit on the land at a cost of Tk 1.5 lakh as he built a bamboo structure on the field for the plants.
The off-season watermelon can be cultivated all the year round, he said.
Bhandaria Upazila Agriculture Officer Abdullah Al Mamun said off-season watermelon has grown in Pirojpur district for the first time.
“We are inspiring farmers to cultivate the watermelon due to its fair price,” he said, adding that they are bringing other farmers to the watermelon field of Bakar so that the growers are inspired to cultivate off-season watermelon.
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