Thai sapodilla has been grown in the hills of Mirsharai in Chattogram. Young agri-entrepreneur Md Omar Sharif has grown the fruit in his orchard, and the trees have been fruiting for the past three years. This year he also sold some at market.

The foreign sapodilla has brought him success: the trees bore fruit within three years of planting the seedlings. Clusters of Thai sapodilla now hang from trees on the uneven hillsides, and many people are surprised to see the foreign fruit for the first time in the remote hills.

Md Omar Sharif is the first to grow Thai sapodilla in Mirsharai, succeeding with a trial crop. The trees started fruiting in 2022. He has decided to expand cultivation and also to market seedlings.

A visit to Johra Agro Farms and Nursery found many local and foreign fruit trees in Omar Sharif's orchard. They include avocado, Miyazaki (surjodim), Kiojai, banana mango, Indonesian Brunei King, King of Chakapat, Alphonso, Alphanchun and Thai banana.

There are also cinnamon, clove, pulasan, rambutan, apple, tamarind, Thai sapodilla, chenak fruit, Thai barikedet malta, year-round malta, Chinese orange, Darjeeling orange, China-3 lychee, latkan, Vietnamese coconut and Sri Lankan coconut.

Md Omar Sharif, owner of Johra Agro Farms and Nursery, said: "In 2019 I collected and planted 400 Thai sapodilla seedlings, but all the trees were burnt in a fire. Only 8 to 10 survived, and those are now bearing fruit. Each tree has yielded 50 to 60 kg. After giving some to relatives and friends, I sold some fruit at market. The yield may rise further. This sapodilla is sweet and tasty. At first the trees bore a little less; now they are yielding well."

Mirsharai upazila agriculture officer Pratap Chandra Roy said: "Sapodilla is a very good fruit. It is rich in iron, which is very beneficial for pregnant women and children, and it is unmatched for brain development. Young entrepreneur Omar Sharif's orchard has many local and foreign fruit trees, Thai sapodilla among them. I will visit his orchard."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.