The foreign vegetable squash has been grown for the first time at Senergati in Tala upazila of Satkhira, a district in the south-west of the country.

According to the district agriculture department, Senergati farmer Sohrab Hossain grew squash on a trial basis on 10 decimals of land this season. Squash is now available in the country's supermarkets, and it also fetches a good price in local markets.

Sohrab Hossain said squash is a winter vegetable that takes three to three and a half months to grow. It tastes better than pumpkin and yields very well. The vegetable is elongated and weighs one and a half to two kilograms on average.

He said he had collected the seed from the non-governmental organisation Unnayan Prochesta. The crop suffers relatively little from disease, although fruit flies are a problem; they are easily controlled with pheromone traps and yellow traps. Squash also does better with organic fertiliser, and it needs very little irrigation.

Squash grows quickly and can be taken to market two or three times a week, Sohrab Hossain said. It sells wholesale at Tk 30 a kg and retail at Tk 45 to Tk 50 a kg.

Nayan Hossain, an agriculturist with Unnayan Prochesta, said that although squash is used as a vegetable much like ordinary pumpkin, its food and nutritional value is far higher.

He said it boosts the body's resistance to disease and is especially beneficial for patients with diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Squash contains vitamins A, C, E and B6 as well as niacin, thiamine, pantothenic acid and folate. It is also rich in magnesium, potassium, minerals, manganese, copper, phosphorus, calcium, iron, carotenoids and other anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds. Eating squash regularly can protect the body from free radicals, he said.

He added that squash supplies plenty of vitamins and beta-carotene, which are very good for the eyes. It can help build bone and increase bone strength and density. It is also very good for people with hypertension because it helps lower blood pressure.

"Many people now grow vegetables or fruit trees on their rooftops or in flower pots," he advised. "They can grow squash on the roof, in a pot or on unused land, because it needs very little space."

Source: Dhaka Tribune. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.