Tender tomato plants are drying up in the fields due to indiscriminate use of urea fertiliser, much to the worry of farmers in Mymensingh Sadar upazila.

Tomato has cultivated on 750 hectares of land in Bororchar and Poranganj unions this year, said local farmers.

Some 20,000 farmers are engaged in vegetable cultivation in the two uinons. Especially farmers of Jafarkanda, Madhumari, Boithamari, Bagerkanda, Mridhapara, Jaformondol Para, Kustiapara and Poyosree Tarapur villages in Bororchar union are the worst sufferers.

Amir Hossain Khan, a farmer of Madhumari village, said he has cultivated tomato and other vegetables on four acres of land this year, spending Tk 150000 but his tomato pants are being dried up since last week.

"Last year, I also cultivated  tomato on two acres of land and got a profit of Tk six lakh but this year I am fearing a huge loss as nearly fifty percent tomato plants have been dried up due to unknown reason", lamented 60-year-old Amir.

Israfil Mia, 35, of Bagerkanda village, said he has cultivated tomato on 1.50-acre of land this time. He is fearing a serious setback this season.

The farmers also said plants in their green chilly cauliflower fields are also being dried up in many areas of the unions.

Abdul Aziz Sarker, chairman of Bororchar union parishad (UP), said there are some 16000 farmers in his union and of them, 12000 are vegetable farmers.

The farmers have spent most of their cost for growing vegetable including cauliflower. Buyers from different parts of the country including Dhaka, Chattogram, Sylhet and Rajshahi throng to the area for vegetable.

The chairman also urged the agriculture officials to take immediate steps to save the farmers from losses.

Md Motiuzzaman, deputy director of department of agriculture extension (DAE) in Mymensingh, said the tomato plants are drying up due to plantation of matured saplings, late insistent rainfall and indiscriminate use of urea fertilizer. The farmers used excessive fertilizer with a view to growing up the plants rapidly.

Repeated cultivation of same vegetables on the same field for years could also be responsible for the situation, he said.

They have visited some villages in Bororchar and found that the plants were drying up, said the deputy director.

The field officials are suggesting the farmers to replace the dried up plants with new one, said the deputy director.

The DAE sources said there is a target of vegetable cultivation on 18400-hectare of land in Mymensingh this season but vegetable has been cultivated on 7900-hectare.