FruitsKamruzzaman Khan grows sammam, or rock melon, on rented land under mulch in Kapasia, Gazipur; after spending about Tk 4 lakh he has sold Tk 50,000 of fruit in the first round.
OrganicNemlab consultant Sheila Storey says a balanced soil food web of fungi, bacteria and nematodes recycles nutrients, holds water and helps crops resist pests, and that six soil-health principles, not quick fixes, are what build it.
VegetablesThe International Potato Center showed biofortified, blight-resistant varieties grown on untilled soil under rice straw with sensor-led drip irrigation, practices it says cut production costs by about 20%.
VegetablesA bottle gourd that drops to Tk 5-10 in the main season sells for Tk 40-50 when grown early or off-season; plants start bearing 45-46 days after sowing, mulch film and regular watering sustain the crop, and tender shoots bring extra income.
VegetablesTwo-thirds of Roail union's 2,100-plus hectares on the Dhaleshwari are triple-cropped; farmers say plastic mulch raises tomato and brinjal yields by 20 to 30 percent, and A-frame trellises give cucumbers in 45 to 70 days.
VegetablesMulch keeps weeds down and soil moist, pheromone traps hold pests in check; Mahmud Al-Imran's one bigha began yielding in 40 to 50 days and early gourds sell at Tk 60-65 a kilo.
FruitsAnwar Hossain of Napiderchar in Kachhapia spent about Tk 70,000 on 40 decimals and some 3,000 seedlings, with 7,000 to 8,000 melons set; he needed 400-500 kg of fertiliser but got only 100 kg.
AgrotechIn net, polythene and steel polynet houses that control light, heat and humidity, Rajshahi farmers harvest grapes twice a year and raise high-value seedlings, while plastic mulching lets them grow watermelon out of season.
AgrotechResearchers at China Agricultural University made a biodegradable mulch film from livestock manure slurry that held silage maize yields with 30 percent less fertiliser and raised them at 15 percent less.
Entrepreneur Kamruzzaman Khan is growing rockmelon (sammam) on plastic mulch on 8.5 leased bighas in Kapasia, Gazipur; he has sold about Tk 50,000 of fruit and hopes the whole plot will bring Tk 6-7 lakh.
Sixty per cent of Sirajganj's 130 hectares of cucumber has been grown on plastic mulch as demonstration plots this season, and extension officers put the yield at 40 to 45 maunds a bigha.
At Mokamtala in Bogura's Shibganj, young agriculture graduates raise disease-free seedlings in soilless cocopeat trays and grow chemical-free vegetables under polyshade with mulch film, fogging and drip irrigation, and offer hydroponics services.
Main Uddin of Bidyakut village in Brahmanbaria grew brinjal under plastic mulch for the first time this season on the upazila agriculture office's advice under the B-Strong project; fewer weeds, better soil moisture and strong yields promise more than Tk 3 lakh of profit, and he plans four bighas ne
