Favourable weather has given cucumber growers in Madarganj, Jamalpur, a good early crop and satisfactory prices. The upazila Department of Agricultural Extension says early cucumber has been planted on about 60 hectares this season, with potential output of around 2,000 tonnes. After local demand is met, the cucumbers go to Dhaka, Narayanganj and Gazipur.
Farmers have planted improved varieties including Green Beauty, Jadu, Zinnia and Moynamoti. Cucumbers hang from trellises across the fields as farmers irrigate, tend plants, and pick and bag the crop for auto-rickshaws to take to market.
Cucumbers now sell for Tk 30 to 40 a kilogram wholesale and Tk 50 to 60 at retail. Farmer Saidur Rahman of Fuljor said plants start fruiting 30 to 35 days after sowing.
Taiyab Ali, a farmer in Nangla, said growing a bigha of cucumber costs Tk 15,000 to 20,000, and a good crop sells for Tk 30,000 to 40,000, though actual profit depends on labour, irrigation, fertiliser and marketing costs. With prices good, he plans to plant more next time.
Upazila agriculture officer Md Habibur Rahman said farmers are growing cucumber with modern mulching. The soil suits the crop, so the area under cultivation grows every year. The report is by Daily Bangladesh's Jamalpur correspondent.
Photo: Friedrich Haag / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0); a representative picture of a cucumber plant
Source: Daily Bangladesh
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