Farmers of Sharsha Upazila in Jashore are seeing success in summer bean and tomato cultivation. These all-year crops are turning the fate of many farmers in the area.
They smile with joy in the hope of making more profit by cultivating summer tomatoes during this season.
According to the Agriculture Department, the second to third week of November is for winter tomato cultivation. Farmers produce seedlings in the seedbed from the last week of October to the first week of November. However, seedlings can be planted for 20-25 days till the middle of November.
When the cultivation of the land is completed, it is necessary to make a platform 10-15 cm above the ground and arrange drainage around it. Water the seedlings immediately after planting. The distance between the rows will be 50 cm and the distance between the seedlings will be 50 cm.
Bahar, Bina Tomato-4, Bina Tomato-5, Bari Tomato-2 or Ratan, Bari Tomato-3, 4, Sabal, Mintu, Bari Tomato-5 among hybrids are giving very good yield, farmers of the area stated. Ripe tomatoes can be collected within 80 to 90 days of planting. Farmers are getting tomatoes seven to eight times from each tree. The yield of tomato can be 80 to 100 kg per cent.
In Sharsha upazila, tomatoes are being cultivated in poly sheds and under beds. Bunch of bean flowers are hanging on the bamboo platform. Farmers think that they will get better prices as there is good yield and sufficient demand in the market.
Summer beans and tomatoes are now seen in the fields of Shyamlagachhi, Narayanpur and Kashipur villages of the upazila. Due to the favorable weather this year, the farmers are seeing success in this timeless vegetable. Last week, beans were sold at Tk 70-80 per kg and tomatoes at Tk 60-70 per kg in the raw markets of Benapole Sharsha and Navaran area.
Farmer Rahman Mia of Kashipur village in Dehi union of Sharsha said, the cost of cultivating beans per bigha is around Tk 1 lakh.
Md Abedin, a farmer from Narayanpur village in Benapole, said that by cultivating Bari-6 variety of tomato, he earned about Tk 200 thousands on one bigha of land last year.
