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CropsAman covers 22,800 hectares on 180 Teesta chars in Rangpur, Lalmonirhat, Kurigram, Gaibandha and Nilphamari, with a good crop; farmers fear a rise in the river will drown low-lying paddy before it is cut.
VegetablesFloating beds made of empty plastic bottles and coconut coir tied to bamboo frames now grow taro, taro stolons, Malabar spinach and red amaranth; the growers eat what they need and give the rest to neighbours cheaply or free.
CookingMarinate half a kilo of loitta in spices for 10-15 minutes, dip in a thick gram-flour and cornflour batter and fry golden over medium heat.
Homestead farmingLutfur Rahman of Sundarganj in Gaibandha grows ginger in about 1,200 sacks with bottle gourd on a trellis above and greens, carrot, aubergine and papaya around it, a mix he planned on the agriculture office's advice.
FruitsAnwar Hossain of Napiderchar in Kachhapia spent about Tk 70,000 on 40 decimals and some 3,000 seedlings, with 7,000 to 8,000 melons set; he needed 400-500 kg of fertiliser but got only 100 kg.
CropsAbout 220 hectares are under cane against a 22,000-tonne target; growers get Tk 5-10 more a stick than last year and Khaldhar Mor market takes some 15,000 sticks a day, but fertiliser shortages have pushed up costs.
FruitsJasim Hossain and Rajib Hasan began a trial on 1.5 bighas in June for about Tk 1.5 lakh and sell online at Tk 100 a kilo; rock melon now covers 60 to 70 bighas in the upazila.
HealthGovernor Kathy Hochul declared the emergency on Monday and let more trained health workers give MMR shots; experts blame falling vaccination rates.
CropsAt a World Cotton Day seminar, Minister Mohammad Aminur Rashid asked for a master plan, with yearly area and farmer targets, to reach 500,000 bales by 2030, and for a look at naturally coloured cotton.
OpinionKhayer Mahmud, associate professor of law at Jagannath University, writes that the 1996 deal guarantees no minimum dry-season flow, ignores environmental flows and lacks binding dispute settlement, and that its expiry risks a legal vacuum.
EnvironmentThe Water Development Board spent Tk 15.87 crore on its banks, the municipality Tk 5 crore on five bridges and Tk 8.04 crore on drains, yet water hyacinth and rubbish now block the canal and each agency says cleaning is the other's job.
VegetablesAtiar Rahman of Murshidpur brought seed from Kahalu in Bogura, spent about Tk 70,000 on 3 bighas and has already sold Tk 2.5 lakh of chilli; neighbours are following him out of rice.
GalleryBOC Ghat on the Meghna is one of the country's biggest paddy markets; in its mill yards men and women spread paddy from dawn and rush to heap and cover it when clouds appear.
EnvironmentBotany professor Chayan Bikash Bhadra of Muminunnessa Government College describes Litsea glutinosa, its flowers, fruit and folk uses, and warns that deforestation has made it far scarcer.
GalleryProthom Alo's photographers on 7 October: paddy drying in Khulna, early potato planting in Rangpur, harvesters and beekeepers in Rajshahi, and Chandpur fishermen putting nets away before the hilsa ban.
EnvironmentMeteorologists say average winter temperatures may run above normal and cold waves may be brief; with less rain, fog may thicken, and irrigation demand may rise in the boro season.
GalleryFrom dawn, beside the tracks at Mojompur rail gate, apples, oranges, malta, grapes, dragon fruit and pomegranates are auctioned; retailers buy wholesale and carry the fruit off by van.
FisheriesOne trawler's 2,400 hilsa sold for Tk 44 lakh at Fishery Ghat, about Tk 2,000 a kilo; traders blame scarce catches elsewhere, while fishermen worry about the 22 days without work.
FruitsHard green papayas bought at Tk 10-12 a kilo in the chars are wrapped in paper and trucked off, arriving ripe at Karwan Bazar to sell for Tk 150-200; a trader denies using chemicals.
CropsThe Department of Agricultural Extension in Khulna sent eight recommendations to the ministry, led by re-excavating canals from Hamkura to the Mayur river and from Baruna beel to Hoglakhati; waterlogging blocks boro planting and July rains ruined about 235 hectares of vegetables.
FisheriesAs a 22-day ban begins on 70 km of the Padma and Meghna, fishermen and traders say it will fall short unless linked canals and estuaries are watched and boats from Shariatpur and Munshiganj are kept out.
FruitsYoung grower Tawhidul Islam Tawhid planted 85 vines of about 15 varieties on 10 decimals of land in Noleya village and is now harvesting; he plans a vineyard of nearly four bighas.
EnvironmentReviewing the Water Development Board and WARPO, the Committee on Public Undertakings urged sediment management, a review of dredging, fewer deep tube-wells in stressed areas and one policy for canal digging.
FruitsAtiar Rahman of Balarampur village grew heat- and rain-tolerant 'Bengal Tiger' watermelons on a trellis over 40 decimals under an agriculture office demonstration; Tk 50,000 spent, Tk 125,000 sold in the first round.
Watch
VideoIn the latest AgriView episode, agricultural economist Wandile Sihlobo asks whether the enlarged BRICS bloc is opening real markets for South African produce, or mostly producing talk.
VideoAt Bindhara in Panchbibi, Joypurhat, small dark-skinned Black Baby watermelons hang from bamboo trellises. The 60-day crop needs 50 grams of seed a bigha, yields 1,200 to 1,500 fruits or 4 to 4.5 tonnes, and at Tk 30 a kilo earns far more than other field crops.
VideoShykh Seraj examines the government's first 180 days in agriculture, from farm loan waivers and farmer cards to crop insurance and canal excavation.
In pictures
GalleryPhoto story: drying paddy at Ashuganj, and the rush when clouds gather1 photosGalleryGlimpse, 7 October: paddy in the sun, early potatoes, nets rolled up and beehives1 photosGalleryPhoto story: the dawn fruit market by the railway crossing in Kushtia1 photos
GalleryAutumn kash flowers draw Dhaka crowds to Aftabnagar1 photos
GalleryGlimpse of 6 October: dew on paddy, river fishing, jute stripping and buffaloes1 photos
GalleryGlimpse: Aus harvest in Bogura, early date palm sap in Rangpur, haritaki in Rangamati1 photos
GalleryIn pictures: Gumai Beel's green carpet of Aman rice below the Rangunia hillsSection
EnvironmentFreedom of Information replies gathered by the CLA show over half of responding fire services in England and Wales have no wildfire protective clothing, a third have no drones, and on-call engines were unavailable 32% of the year.
CropsSatellite monitoring by IARI's CREAMS counted 287 paddy residue fires in seven states from 15 September to 6 October; Madhya Pradesh had 118 and Punjab 88, its lowest for the period in seven years.
EnvironmentOur Atmosphere and Climate 2026 says glacier ice fell from 56 to 30 cubic kilometres since 1997, and projects drier productive land, heavier rain and longer wildfire seasons.
HealthAn ICCT study links vehicle exhaust to one in four new pollution-related asthma cases among Gurugram's children and teenagers in 2025, and finds most emissions come from newer cars.
