Growing summer watermelon with mulching has opened a new prospect in Jhenaidah. Farmer Abdur Rahim Badsha has succeeded with a trial crop, and many people are coming to see his field. Both he and agriculture officials are pleased with the yield and taste.

According to the district agriculture department, Abdur Rahim Badsha grew the crop in the Holidhani block of Jhenaidah Sadar upazila, in a field beside the Jhenaidah-Chuadanga road. He collected seed himself and planted summer watermelon on 52 decimals in the first week of September. Mulching was used to keep moisture at the base of the plants, and trellises were built to protect the fruit from insects; the watermelons now hang from them.

"We grew watermelon on 11 trellises or sheds on 52 decimals using modern mulching," he said. "More than 2,000 fruits have set, and their size, colour, taste and quality are very good."

Each fruit can weigh 3 to 5 kg, and the fruit set after two months of care, with harvest due a week later. He spent 40,000 taka in all and has already sold the whole crop for 125,000 taka. On average, he said, summer watermelon grown over two and a half months can bring a profit of 70,000 to 80,000 taka.

A special team from the Ministry of Agriculture visited the field on 6 November to inspect activities under the Department of Agricultural Extension's project on strengthening nutrition and food security through agricultural development and the Department of Agricultural Marketing's strengthening project. The team included Ferdousi Akhter, joint chief of the ministry's crops wing, deputy chief Ratna Sharmin Jhora and senior assistant chief Priyanka Debi Pal, along with DAE officials Md Selim Reza, Md Nur-E-Nabi and Mofiz Uddin.

Upazila agriculture officer Md Nur-E-Nabi said the unusual summer crop has created a new opportunity in the district. Ferdousi Akhter said that as a short-duration crop, summer watermelon should attract more farmers, and the government aims to provide all support.

Source: Jagonews24 (reported by Shahjahan Nabin). First published in Bengali on The Agro News.