Inspired by farming videos online, Omar Ali, 45, of East Dangapara village in Lakshmichap union, Nilphamari Sadar, is growing off-season watermelons on bamboo trellises. Hundreds of yellow, dark green and striped melons hang across his three bighas.
He used to grow cucumbers on the land. He bought 6,000 seedlings of the King Sugar and Surya Dim varieties from a seed supplier in Dhaka. Each melon is tied to the trellis in a net to protect it from insects and from too much sun and rain. Land preparation, trellises, seedlings, nets and care have cost him about Tk 3 lakh so far.
The plants are now more than 60 days old, and picking should start at 70 days if the weather holds. He expects each melon to weigh about three kilograms and to fetch a wholesale price of Tk 50 a kilogram at this time of year. If all sell, he reckons on about Tk 9 lakh, or a net profit of about Tk 6 lakh after costs, and he has made initial contact with wholesalers at Karwan Bazar in Dhaka.
There are risks. Stem-end rot and fungal infection in unseasonal weather are the biggest challenges, he said, so he is applying balanced fertiliser and pesticide at the recommended doses.
Neighbour Jagadish Roy said no one in the area had seen coloured off-season watermelons grown on trellises before, and many villagers plan to try next season. Mosa. Homayra Mondal, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension in Nilphamari, said off-season watermelon is in high demand and officials have visited the field to advise on disease control.
Reported by Shahidul Islam for Dinajpur TV.
Photo: Zeynel Cebeci / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Dinajpur TV
Comments
(0)