Boiltola village in Saturia upazila is known across Manikganj as the 'lemon village'. Lemons cover 110 hectares in the upazila this season, 90 of them in Boiltola. Growers pick and sell all year round, and after meeting local demand the lemons go to markets across the country.
Across the village, orchards are being cleared and fertilised with the coming demand of Ramadan in mind. Some farmers have labourers picking, some carry baskets to the roadside, others sort small, large and ripe fruit and load crates onto vehicles. The orchards grow kagzi, elachi and Colombo lemons.
Khorshed Alam, one of the first to grow lemons in Boiltola, said sugarcane used to be grown in the area. They started with lemons about 30 years ago, and because the profit was higher than other crops, gradually the whole village followed.
Shah Alam, who has a three-and-a-half bigha orchard, said that once planted and properly cared for, a lemon tree yields for 10 to 12 years. There are four main pickings a year, and some fruit can be sold all year. Boiltola's lemons go to the Nimsar wholesale market in Cumilla, Karwan Bazar in Dhaka and elsewhere.
Local lemon trader Azahar Ali bought a six-bigha orchard for a year this season for Tk 2.2 lakh. After labour, fertiliser and irrigation he expects a profit of Tk 2 lakh; when prices are high the profit rises, and when they fall it shrinks.
Saturia upazila agriculture officer Mosa Tania Tabassum said Boiltola has the most lemon orchards in the upazila and that, because it pays, lemon growing is spreading fast in the area. Farmers grow elachi, seedless, Colombo, kagzi and local varieties.
Photo: Lime fruit and blossom on the tree, Prosthetic Head / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0); representative image
Source: Krishi Shomoy
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