Vegetable growing through the seasons: varieties, pest and disease control, safe production, and vegetable prices and markets.
VegetablesKnown locally as gor alu, guichcha alu or lema alu, the purple yam grows on trellises, under trees and around homesteads at almost no cost, and suffers almost no disease. From preparing pits and treating seed to planting, feeding, care and knowing the right moment to harvest, here is how to grow it properly.
VegetablesVarieties from Bogura, Chandpuri and Faridpuri to the fiery Kamranga and Akali, the nursery bed, planting distances, the fertiliser schedule per hectare and irrigation. Alongside them, how to recognise and control whitefly, thrips, aphids, the fruit borer, mites and the main diseases, and what yield a well-run field can expect.
VegetablesNurseries in Kamalganj, Moulvibazar, graft tomato shoots onto hardy wild brinjal roots, producing 6.5 to 7 million disease- and rain-tolerant seedlings a season worth Tk 5 to 6 crore.
CookingSoft pancakes of spinach, ripe banana, flour, egg and milk, cooked on a low flame, are an easy way to put greens into a child's breakfast; babies under one need no added salt or sugar.
CropsMeherpur's aman and winter vegetables need about 3,656 tonnes of DAP and TSP, but September's allocation was 2,197 tonnes, and farmers queue at dealers without getting what they need.
VegetablesIn Homna, Cumilla, farmer Wali Ullah raises fish in a 16-decimal pond beside his house and grows vegetables on its banks, feeding his family and earning extra income.
VegetablesA sudden hill torrent on Tuesday and Wednesday ruined much of the early rabi and winter vegetables on about 100 hectares of chars along the Dhurung canal in Kanchannagar, Fatikchhari.
AgribusinessFine rice rose by Tk 2 a kg in a week in Dhaka's retail markets and loose soybean and palm oil also went up, while local onion, garlic and broiler chicken fell; vegetables and fish stay dear.
CropsA sudden upstream surge on 10-13 September flooded eight chars of Bilmaria union in Lalpur, Natore, hitting 1,300 farmers; as the water recedes, the agriculture office has sent its damage estimate to the government.
VegetablesKishoreganj farmers are planting early potatoes as soon as the aman rice is cut; after last season's losses, cheap seed and good weather have them hoping to recover.
VegetablesWith 300,000 farmers in its supply chains facing drought, extreme weather and higher costs, PepsiCo is bringing growers together from 35 countries to share what works, its global agriculture procurement chief told AgNavigator.
VegetablesA two-year field study in Georgia found that poultry-based soil amendments and extreme weather affect how long E. coli persists in soils used to grow sweet onions.
VegetablesA weekly market update from Agricultural Market Trends finds tight supply lifting tomato and potato prices, while onions, still 264% dearer than a year ago, may soon ease.
LivestockJeremiah Jotham built Basadi Agribusiness around a leased abattoir, adding rabbit production and spinach and kale that use its water and by-products.
EnvironmentOn a 32 km stretch of the Dhaka-Chattogram highway in Mirsarai, vegetables are now grown at 113 spots on the road median where hundreds of jarul, sonalu and oleander trees planted for shade and beauty were cut; the roads department says it will act.
