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VegetablesIn five unions of Saidpur, Nilphamari, farmers are planting the local Seven potato, ready in 50-60 days; a labour shortage has pushed day wages to Tk 350 for women and Tk 700 for men.
FisheriesA one-kilogram hilsa that cost Tk 2,500 two weeks ago now sells for Tk 2,800-3,000; all fishing in sanctuary areas is banned from 8 to 29 October, the fisheries office says.
FruitsOn about two acres on the Birganj-Khansama border in Dinajpur, Aminul Islam has planted Sagar bananas with Ratna cauliflower in between; he says advice and fertiliser have been slow to come, and the agriculture office says it will send an officer.
VegetablesGrafting tomato onto wild eggplant rootstock has raised yields, but early tomatoes that fetched Tk 100-110 a kg last year sell for Tk 50-60; Moulvibazar has no cold store for tomatoes.
HealthChildren are falling ill with influenza, chikungunya, seasonal coronavirus, rhinovirus and diarrhoea, some developing pneumonia; doctors urge parents to seek specialist advice quickly.
OpinionWriting in Our Islam, senior scholar and author Maulana Muhammad Hemayet Uddin says uploading books without the publisher's permission breaks copyright law and is impermissible in Islamic jurisprudence, and calls for legal action.
IslamThe committee of North Haripur Qutub Ullah Bhuiyan Jame Mosque in Chhagalnaiya set the challenge to bring children to the mosque; the bicycles were handed over on Saturday night.
Forest officials rescued a leopard cat that strayed into a house in Islampur on Saturday and released it in the Alutila reserved forest; a conservationist says it looked unwell and should have been observed first.
HealthDietary consultant Dr Arun Kumar told BBC Bangla that a yolk carries about 200 mg of cholesterol but most blood cholesterol is made by the liver; claims that chickens are given hormones are wrong, but eggs should not be eaten raw.
CropsRang Bilash cane covers 126 hectares in Natore's Gurudaspur, Baraigram and Singra this year, yielding at least 1,213 tonnes of juice; growers say garlic or onion grown between the rows pays the cost of the cane.
FruitsKhadija Akter of Jaldhaka took up farming in 2018 after losing her husband; she grows coffee on three bighas and rambutan, dragon fruit, passion fruit and cocoa on two, and sold about 400 kg of rambutan last year.
FlowersKnown as the Garden of Europe, Keukenhof opens from mid-March to the first week of May with tulips, daffodils and hyacinths; tickets go on sale in mid-October.
EnvironmentA 2022-23 study recorded 23 mammal species in Inani National Park, three of them critically endangered; settlements, roads and construction threaten to squeeze their habitat.
HealthDhaka Medical College Hospital has admitted 3,085 dengue patients this year to 3 October and 42 have died; the hospital hands out mosquito nets, but heat and nowhere to hang them mean many go unused.
VegetablesPotatoes that cost Tk 19-20 a kg once storage and transport are paid sell for Tk 14; the district's 19 cold stores still hold about 105,000 tonnes, and growers want an export push.
HealthClosing the Bangladesh Oxygen Summit, state minister for health Dr M A Muhit said a project proposal is being drafted and that work has begun on a 2026-2030 national oxygen roadmap and on standards for ambulance services.
HealthDengue had killed 21 people in Chattogram district by the end of September, with Sitakunda and Karnaphuli hardest hit; a week-long mosquito control drive has begun in Karnaphuli.
OpinionJahangirnagar University zoologist Ashish Dutta writes that 390 of 1,619 species assessed in Bangladesh's 2015 Red List are threatened and 31 are extinct in the country, and asks planners to weigh animals' needs in every road, dam and settlement.
KRIBHCO and HURL want new plants at Gorakhpur and Indo Rama one at Jagdishpur, with a third at Shahjahanpur; the Centre is expected to decide within a month as India imports a quarter of its urea.
VegetablesOnions that sold for Tk 35 a kg at Hili a week ago now cost Tk 40-45; traders blame rain keeping farmers from bringing onions to market, and consumer-rights officials say they are checking prices.
EnvironmentThe 27-metre lava-rock arch in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park was intact on 23 September; after storm Nolo passed, park officials confirmed on 1 October that it had fallen.
OpinionIn Bangla Tribune, Ekram Kabir writes that two-thirds of Bangladesh's 1,415 listed rivers barely exist, that Dhaka's four rivers take in about 330 tonnes of waste a day, and that polluted irrigation water is reaching soil and crops.
VegetablesMost vegetables sold for Tk 80-120 a kg at Rai Saheb Bazar on Sunday, eggs topped Tk 150 a dozen and small rui fetched Tk 360-400; many shoppers wander until late morning, when prices dip.
EnvironmentAbout 4 km of an LGED road of nearly 5 km, costing Tk 25.03 crore, runs through gazetted reserved forest used by wild elephants; the forest department asked for work to stop on 22 September, but it has not fully stopped.
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
GalleryWood apples by the sackload: a busy dawn market by a Bogura rail crossing1 photos
GalleryPassion flowers, a pair of hornbills and straw by boat: rural Bangladesh on 4 October1 photos
GalleryIn pictures: shy plum-headed parakeets descend on grain fields in Naogaon1 photos
Gallery3 October in pictures: pumpkin greens, a load of taro and bees on touch-me-nots1 photos
GalleryLilies on rocky ground at 10,600 feet: a women's flower farm in Ladakh1 photos
GalleryIn pictures: jute markets, trap-caught fish, bean fields and water lilies1 photos
GalleryFog arrives early on autumn mornings across Bangladesh's northSection
EnvironmentThe government says the meat will go to poor rural people; the Botswana Elephant Protection Society and former president Ian Khama oppose the decision.
EnvironmentThe Traditional Farm Buildings Grant scheme repaired almost 6,000 square metres of old sheds and outbuildings for working use, which a departmental review found brings lasting climate benefits.
EnvironmentThe Irish Bioenergy Association wants a biomethane capital grant, a ringfenced €3-4 million for small farm digesters, a renewable heat obligation and lower VAT on biomass appliances.
EnvironmentAn exhibition organised by Dhoritri Rokkhay Amra (DHORA), showing 170 photographs by Abir Abdullah and Ansar Uddin Khan Pathan, runs until 6 October.
EnvironmentProtected hills and tea-garden hillocks in Madhabpur and Chunarughat collapse into silted streams with each flash flood; residents want the streams dredged and trees planted, and the district administration is studying technical fixes.
