Teacher Shamsul Alam has had great success with a China orange orchard in Ghatail, Tangail. More than a hundred trees in his orchard are laden with bunches of oranges, which are both large and very sweet.

Fruit growers from different areas are flocking to see the orchard every day, and many, encouraged by the good harvest, are planning to grow oranges themselves.

Shamsul Alam's orchard is in Rasulpur village on the northern edge of Ghatail upazila. Six years ago he planted a fruit orchard on seven acres of family land. On the agriculture department's advice he planted more than a hundred orange saplings there about three years ago. This is the first time the trees have fruited, with between 40 and more than 300 oranges on each tree.

In the orchard, the trees were hung with oranges, some ripened yellow and some still green, while Shamsul Alam tended them. He said many people in the area had tried orange orchards before without success, as the fruit they got was very sour. But he took up orange growing as a challenge on the agriculture department's advice and succeeded in the very first year. One tree bore more than 300 oranges. The first harvest is small, he said, and yields will rise.

His success is encouraging people in his own area and beyond to grow oranges. Abdul Mannan of Rasulpur, met in the orchard, said he had decided to grow oranges himself after seeing the good yield, and has prepared an acre of land for an orchard.

Mokhlesur Rahman of Shaliabaha village in Ghatail, Monsur Ali of the upazila town and Abdus Sattar of Betbari village in neighbouring Madhupur upazila are also planting orange orchards after seeing Shamsul Alam's harvest. Interested people have come from nearby districts too. Ikbar Hossain of Gafargaon upazila in Mymensingh said he also wants to plant an orchard and came to see it after hearing about the good yield.

Shamsul Alam said that because it was the first harvest he gave many oranges to relatives, local people and visitors. Even so, he is selling more than Tk 1 lakh worth of oranges from the orchard at Tk 150 a kg. "When I planted the orchard, many people made snide remarks. They said sweet oranges would never grow in this area. But the yield from my orchard has proved that good sweet oranges can be grown here too," he said.

Md Abdur Razzak, deputy director of the agriculture department in Tangail, said the soil of the area is suitable for oranges. The department is training farmers in planting and caring for orange trees, and field staff are advising farmers on orange cultivation.

Source: Prothom Alo. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.