Farmers in Kalapara, Patuakhali, have succeeded in growing potatoes without tilling the land. The method is becoming more popular by the day because it gives a bigger crop at lower cost and with less fertiliser and irrigation. The On-Farm Research Division of the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) is giving farmers technical support.

In Kalapara this season, potatoes were planted at fixed spacing in the soft, muddy soil immediately after the aman rice was harvested, without any ploughing. The potato fields were then covered with leftover straw and stubble.

This way a good potato crop is being harvested in a short time at low cost, using little fertiliser and water. The BARI On-Farm Research Division is helping farmers in Patuakhali grow potatoes by this method for the first time, and the farmers are pleased with the good yields.

Sohrab Hossain, a farmer from Nilganj union in Kalapara upazila, said: "This is the first time I have seen potatoes grown like this. A lot of our land lies fallow. Now we will grow potatoes on that land too using this method."

Md Tawfiqul Alam, additional director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Barishal, said aman rice is harvested somewhat late in the southern region, leaving no time afterwards to plough and prepare the land. That is why potato cultivation can easily be expanded using this method.

BARI Director General Dr Debashish Sarker said the institute's BARI Alu 72 and 78 varieties can give good yields even in adverse conditions. Farmers are therefore being given advice and all-round support to grow this salt- and heat-tolerant variety.

Although yields are higher in other areas, these zero-tillage potatoes are giving 20 to 25 tonnes an acre despite the adverse conditions. The potatoes also look very good.

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