Kushtia has a special reputation for producing flower seedlings. As winter deepens, sales of seedlings at the flower nurseries have risen. Growers say they are earning more from selling flower seedlings than from conventional crops.

A visit to nurseries across the district found seedlings of hybrid marigold, blood-red marigold, Queen Super marigold and perennial marigold selling at Tk 10 each. Retail prices for other hybrid seedlings included dahlia Tk 15, chrysanthemum Tk 15, snowball Tk 20, calendula Tk 10, zinnia Tk 10, phlox Tk 20, gazania Tk 10, dianthus Tk 10, rangamix Tk 10, balsam (dopati) Tk 10, star Tk 10, papiya Tk 20, salvia Tk 10, fireball Tk 130, apurbia Tk 80, panchatia Tk 150, red hibiscus Tk 80, rangan Tk 85, China crape jasmine Tk 20 and cosmos Tk 10.

Among hybrid roses, Taj Mahal, Rani and Bishwa Sundari roses sell at Tk 100 each at retail and Irani rose at Tk 25, while raw turmeric, cream, white and Zarina roses sell at Tk 100 depending on type. Local roses sell at retail for Tk 10.

Parvez Hasan Joy, owner of Limon Nursery in Mirpur upazila, said the flower seedlings and seeds are collected from Gadkhali, Jhumjhumpur and Basudebpur in Jashore and Mahasthangarh in Bogura. Flower seedlings do not sell much at other times of year, but sales rise in winter. "I have taken training in flower farming from the agriculture department, but I have not received any fertiliser or seed from the government. If I had, I could have earned more."

A Rahman, owner of SR Garden Centre on Zia Road in Mirpur, said the winter flower seedling trade lasts about four months, and demand is strong this year. Md Tutul Hossain, a worker at the nursery, said: "I work here all year round. As the owners are making a profit, we are doing well too."

Retail seedling seller Md Amjad Hossain said: "We buy flower seedlings wholesale from the nurseries and sell them in town. We make a profit of two hundred to five hundred taka a day selling seedlings, and our families get by well on it."

Ashraful Gani Santu, general secretary of the district nursery owners' association, said: "Nursery owners get no government facilities, not even loans. We have to finance everything ourselves, which becomes hard for many."

Golam Wasif Abir, president of the Kushtia nursery owners' association, said about Tk 50 to 60 lakh worth of flower seedlings are bought and sold in the district in the winter season.

Shyamal Kumar Biswas, deputy director of the DAE in Kushtia, said there are many private nurseries in Kushtia, but they are outside the agriculture department's remit. The district does have one government nursery, but it is very small.

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.