Kamruzzaman Khan, an entrepreneur from Surjonarayanpur village in Kapasia upazila of Gazipur, has grown sammam, or rock melon, on land rented in his own village using plastic mulch. His plants are now heavy with fruit.
Including the rent, he has spent about Tk 4 lakh. He has already sold about Tk 50,000 of melons in the first round, and if nothing goes wrong he expects the rest to fetch Tk 6 to 7 lakh. The fruit goes to local markets and to wholesalers in Dhaka, who are paying Tk 80 to 100 a kilogram.
Kamruzzaman said he follows modern methods on the agriculture office's advice and has made no loss so far. The venture employs his family and several workers, and he plans to grow more foreign fruit in future.
Sammam is a sweet, fragrant summer fruit popular in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the Middle East. The agriculture department says the loam soils of the Old Brahmaputra and Shitalakshya basins in Kapasia's Torgaon, Toke, Barishab and Sonmania areas may suit the crop.
Additional upazila agriculture officer Syed Shakil Ahmed said rock melon is usually ready to pick 75 to 90 days after planting. With good care and good prices, a bigha can bring in Tk 2 to 3 lakh.
He cautioned, though, that costs are not the same on every plot: they vary with the soil, wages, irrigation, inputs and management, so a grower new to the crop should work out the sums for their own land first.
Reported by Krishi Shomoy's Gazipur correspondent.
Photo: Netted rock melon (Cucumis melo var. reticulatus), Scott Bauer, USDA / Wikimedia Commons (public domain)
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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