AgribusinessAt the AgRI 2040 conference in Brussels, EU officials and farmers said agricultural research must reach farms faster, with less red tape, more partnerships and stronger demand for new products.
AgrotechIceland's Atmonia makes ammonia from nitrogen and water in one electrochemical step, without producing hydrogen first, and aims for a container unit making about 150 tons a year on farms.
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.
AgribusinessA 50 kg sack of urea costs farmers Tk 1,350 at home but sells for about Tk 9,000 in Myanmar; the Coast Guard seized 255 tonnes of fertiliser between July and 25 September.
EnvironmentBangladesh produces about 3,000 tonnes of plastic waste a day, much of it ending up in rivers; microplastics have been found in Buriganga fish and crabs, while the polythene ban and court orders go unenforced.
GalleryIt is still sharat, yet fog is settling over many parts of the country at dawn, most of all in the north; a Prothom Alo picture story from Panchagarh, Rangpur, Pabna, Naogaon and Sajek.
HealthEast Bardhaman drug control officials raided pharmacies in Bardhaman town over complaints that buyers were forced to buy whole strips beyond their prescription, warning that licences could be cancelled.
HealthHarvard-trained dermatologist Neera Nathan says that after losing nearly half her hair she relied on scalp care, minoxidil, light therapy and correcting nutrient deficiencies, while urging people not to start treatment without a doctor.
BangladeshThe Tista Meander Floodplain, Bangladesh's third agro-ecological zone, covers nearly a million hectares from Panchagarh to Bogura. Old river courses left it a patchwork of quick-draining ridges and wetter basins, acidic soils short of several nutrients, and farms that grow rice, potatoes, maize and mustard side by side. New research at Rangpur shows four and five crops a year are possible, and satellite data and artificial intelligence could help match each field to the right crop, if their advice is tested in farmers' fields first.
Leftover kneaded dough keeps for a few hours in a clean bowl under a lightly damp cloth in a cool, shaded spot; if its smell, colour or texture changes, it should not be used.
FisheriesSome 15,000 people in at least 18 villages of Nesarabad, Pirojpur, make, sell or fish with the bamboo trap known as the chai, which sells for Tk 300 to 400.
HealthSharmin Akter, an associate professor of plastic surgery at NITOR, writes that she left her own lump after a reassuring FNAC; cancer-free after seven months of treatment, she now insists on core biopsy and a tumour board.
IslamA hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari says Friday holds a brief hour when a Muslim's prayer is granted; here are four supplications from the Quran that can be recited that day, with their meanings and sources.
FlowersSabdi, a village near Narayanganj city, is known for flower farming; as winter begins its fields fill with sunflowers, marigolds and roses, and it makes an easy day trip from Dhaka.
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.
Zakat in Bangladesh could reach Tk 20,000-25,000 crore a year, yet the government fund takes in about Tk 10 crore; Professor M Kabir Hassan argues for using the ibn al-sabil and fi sabilillah categories for the displaced, with institutional reform.
Daily lifeThe regulated price of a 12 kg LPG cylinder rose from Tk 975 in April 2021 to Tk 1,940 in April 2026; September's fixed price is Tk 1,585, yet shops charge Tk 2,150 to 2,500.
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.
GalleryHemanta is still about 15 days away, yet chhatim trees across Sylhet are in flower, and after dusk their sweet scent drifts through the city's lanes.
EnvironmentA day after cracks appeared near Sureshwar fish market in Naria, Shariatpur, about 20 metres of the three-year-old Padma bank-protection embankment slid into the river on Thursday evening.
