Experimental dragon fruit farming has brought smiles on the faces of grassroots farmers in hilly areas in Bandarban district.
The fruit cultivation is expanding fast across the district as it is more profitable. Now the peasants of the area have shown more interest to grow the fruit on a large scale.
Mong Mong Shing, a development worker in Bandarban planted several hundred dragon fruit saplings in 2020 following his hobby.
Two years down the line, Mong Mong Shing now has 16 hundred dragon fruit trees on 5 acres of land from which he hopes to sell fruits worth up to Tk13 lakh.
Visiting his dragon fruit orchard, farmers were seen passing a busy time in collecting dragon fruit to sell commercially.
Talking with Bangladesh Post, Mong Mong Shing said, “He collects dragon fruit from his orchard twice in a month from May to October. He collects almost four tonnes of the fruit in a month.”
He however hoped to earn good profit this year as he anticipates collecting 9 metric tonnes of dragon fruit this year.
He expects the fruit will have a good demand in the coming two years. Growers will get back the costs of cultivation in just two years. After that, they will start making a profit almost effortlessly.
Seeing his success, the relative newcomer dragon fruit cultivation shows hope and promise for the people in Bangladesh's hill districts.
Originally from Mexico and nowadays common in Southeast Asia and China, the fruit is being cultivated by many in the hills of Bandarban.
Dragon saplings grow with the support of poles and require less irrigation. With proper care, growers in the hill district are getting expected yields.
The horticulture centre provides growers with necessary support as they lack knowledge of taking the proper care of the new fruit.
Sources of the department of Agricultural Extension in Bandarban, told Bangladesh Post that around 135.5 metric tons of dragon fruit cultivated in the Bandarban district.
Dragon fruit farming has become a profitable business. One kilogram of dragon fruit is selling for between Tk200 and Tk350 depending on size. Plus, the nutritious value of the fruit is high.
The plant is nothing but an evergreen cactus, which reaches up to 1.5 to 2.5 metres high with leafless thin vine-like branches. It needs support to hold the vine upward. It reproduces from seeds and from branches (cuttings).
But preferable to grow from branches because growth of dragon plant from seed germination is found to be comparatively slower.
Compost in loamy soil is favourable for growing. Over-watering should be avoided as it may cause fruit-splitting, flower-dropping, yellowing of the plants, and slow shoot development.
Regular mulching around the plants is also important along with providing dynamic lifter and dolomite every alternate month (100 g per plant). The plant blooms only at night, which can affect the process of pollination. In such a case, its growth may be encouraged with the hand pollination technique.
