From a distance it looks as if fireflies are twinkling across the field. Up close there are rows of lights, with green dragon fruit plants and white flowers beneath them, a meeting of light, green and white in the dark night. The scene is at a dragon fruit orchard in Charatala village of Harinakunda upazila, Jhenaidah. Biplob Jahan created it in the hope of a bigger harvest, and many people now crowd in at night to see the orchard.
The orchard was set up about three years ago on 11 bighas of land in Charatala village. Its 30,000 plants used to yield an average of 45 tonnes a season. The orchard costs Tk 2 lakh a month to run and employs 10 to 12 workers every day. A month and a half ago, 2,800 special lights were brought from China and night-time care of the plants began. Because of the lighting, the number of flowers has risen sharply compared with last season: about 70,000 flowers have now opened, twice as many as at other times.
Visitors at night
Mehnaz Parvin, who came from town at night to see the orchard, said: "I had seen scenes of lit dragon orchards on Facebook and YouTube. When I learned that an orchard in Harinakunda had set up lights, I came with my husband and children to see it."
Monirul Islam, a local resident, said: "People passing this way in the evening stop to look because of the lights. Every day many people from outside come to see the orchard."
The orchard's manager, also named Monirul Islam, said: "Last year we sold 40 to 45 tonnes of fruit. This year we are getting even more, because we brought special lights from China. Using them, we now have 70,000 flowers, and we will get flowers and fruit all year round. The lights are kept on from 5pm to 9pm and from 3am to 7am."
Mosharraf Hossain, agriculture training officer at the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah, said: "This light induction method increases flowers and fruit in a dragon orchard. The farmer in Charatala village is benefiting, and others can also earn extra profit with this method."
Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.
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