Retired school teacher Shamsul Alam of Tangail has succeeded in growing lotkon. Although lotkon is not widely grown in the area, the farmer is doing well with his harvest. Last year he sold Tk 5 lakh worth of fruit from only 2,500 lotkon trees, and with good yields and sales this season he hopes the sum will double.

Shamsul Alam lives in Rasulpur, a hilly village in Ghatail upazila of Tangail. He taught agricultural science at Ghatail Saleha Yusufzai Girls' High School. He says lotkon farming has great potential, because although some capital is needed at planting, looking after the trees costs little.

Shamsul Alam said he went to Narsingdi in 2014, saw lotkon orchards and talked to the growers there. He collected seeds, raised seedlings and planted them on 7.5 acres next to his home. After five or six years some trees began to fruit. More than 2,000 trees turned out to be male and had to be cut down. Now 2,500 trees in the orchard are bearing fruit.

On the ground, lotkon hang in clusters on every tree. Fruit traders come from different areas to buy, going into the orchard and picking as they wish, while Shamsul Alam sits in front of his house weighing the fruit and selling it wholesale.

Saiful, a fruit trader from Tangail, said: "The lotkon from this orchard is as tasty as Narsingdi's. I bought it at Tk 70 a kg, plus Tk 5 a kg for transport. I sell it in Tangail for Tk 130-140 a kg."

Sharif, a fruit trader from Ghatail, said: "Bringing lotkon from Narsingdi costs a lot in transport. Now high-quality lotkon is grown close to home. I started selling fruit from Shamsul Alam's orchard last year. In the season I sell two or three maunds every other day. Traders from neighbouring districts and upazilas come to buy from his orchard."

Shamsul Alam said it takes about 10 years after planting for a tree to grow to full size, and fruit production keeps rising after that. "When I first planted the orchard, many people discouraged me. Many said it would not yield well in our area. But I did not give up. I have proved that lotkon can be grown here. Lotkon needs little care, so production costs are low."

Md Kabir Hossain, deputy director of the district Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said: "The soil in this area is suitable for lotkon. The agriculture department is advising Shamsul Alam and giving him all-round support. There is potential for growing lotkon commercially in this area."

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