Once again, off-season hybrid watermelon grown in the monsoon has brought smiles to farmers in Kalia, Narail. They are profiting from high yields at low cost and good prices, and their success has drawn many others to off-season watermelon. The agriculture department says it is giving farmers full support for hybrid watermelon, with advice, free fertiliser and seed, and cash.

On a visit, yellow and black watermelons of different kinds were seen hanging from trellises. Special year-round watermelon varieties have been grown on the banks of countless fish enclosures in the beel at Gobindanagar in Chhoto Kalia in Kalia municipality, Bhaurir Char beel in Salamabad union, Dutkura beel in Baoisona union and Bhaktadanga beel.

According to the agriculture office and farmers, monsoon watermelon has been grown on 20 hectares in Narail this year, up from last year. Farmers expect a yield of 15 tonnes a hectare. Among the varieties, Asian-2, Tripti and Black Baby are becoming popular. Asian-2 is a Bangladeshi variety that looks attractive and tastes good, and Tripti is especially tasty. Costs are low, only Tk 15,000-20,000 an acre, while the crop sells for Tk 1.5 lakh to Tk 2 lakh. Farmers are also pleased that market prices are high.

Sheikh Kamal Hossain, assistant professor in the management department of Naboganga Degree College, said that with help from the upazila agriculture department he took hands-on training at Dumuria in Khulna and planted 1,400 seedlings on the banks of 7 acres of fish enclosures in Gachhbaria beel. His total cost was Tk 70,000, and he hopes to sell Tk 3 lakh worth this time.

Asit Kumar Biswas of Dutkura village in Baoisona planted 3,000 seedlings in Dutkura beel at a cost of Tk 70,000. He hopes to sell 12,000 kg of watermelon for Tk 6 lakh.

Kalia municipality councillor Pradip Kumar Barman said he spent Tk 8 lakh planting 10,000 seedlings on the banks of 150 bigha of fish enclosures and expects 90,000 kg of watermelon. If market prices hold, selling at Tk 40-50 a kg wholesale, he could make a profit of about Tk 40 lakh.

Kalia upazila agriculture officer Eva Mallik, an agriculturist, said: "Watermelon can now be grown all year. The crop can be harvested 60-70 days after sowing. Under the Khulna agricultural region's climate change adaptation project, using climate-smart technology, off-season watermelon has had great success as the upazila's first high-yielding crop of this kind. We are trying to expand it by providing technical support from the upazila agriculture office."

Md Ashek Parvez, agriculturist and deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension, Khamarbari, Narail, said: "Farmers in Kalia have succeeded with off-season watermelon. They have succeeded by using smart technology."

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