Narsingdi Correspondent :
Farmers in the Narsingdi district are expecting a bumper production of mustard in the current season.
Encouraged by good yield of the winter crop and its fair price during the last several years, farmers of Ripura, Polash, Shibpura, Monohardi, Balabo and Sadar upazila of the district are cultivating the winter crop on larger areas of land.
Easy cultivation process and lower production cost is also a reason behind popularity of mustard cultivation among the farmers in the area, said officer and farmers.
The farmer in Narsingdi district have cultivated mustard on 1480 hectares of land against the DAE’s target of 3365 hectares of 3365 hectares of land with the production target of 4787 tones, officials said.
Of the mustard fields 580 hectares are in Narsingdi Sadar upazila, 490 hectares in Polash upazila, 365 hectares in Balabo upazila, 660 hectares in Polash upazila and 575 hectares in Monohardi upazila and 685 hectares in Raipura upazila.
Most of the lands are covered with varieties by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI), including BARI Sharisha-9, Tori-7 and Md. Azijur Rahman, said deputy director (DD) of the Department of Agriculture Extension office. A few local varieties have also been cultivated, office sources said.
Depending of soil condition requires only one or two times irrigation while about Tk 3000 is needed to cultivate the crop on a bigha (.3306 acre) of land. On an average seven mounds (one mound 37.32 kg) of mustard in produces on a bigha of land, Md. Azijur Rahman DD said.
Although the recent dense for and severe cold weather posed threat of production fail due to spot disease on leaves and pods of mustard, the farmers successfully overcame the situation following directives of DAE officials, he said, siding that mustard crops in the district have mostly passed the pod formation stage and it sees excellent growth everywhere.
The DAE authorities are trying to persuade the farmers to cultivate high yielding varieties of mustard invented by BARI between the gaps of Aman and Boro to earn profit.
During this correspondent’s recent visit to different areas of Raipura upazila and Polash upazila, farmers said they are hopeful to get bumper production of mustard and harvest will begin in third or fourth week of this month.
Mustard cultivator Ekramul HaqueI said that he has cultivated mustard on a bigha of land last year spending Tk 2800 only and got six maunds of mustard. He sold each maund of mustard for Tk 1700 in the local market and made profit tk 7400.
He has cultivated mustard on tow bhighs of land in the current season, a farmer of Hasnabd village under Raipura upazila in Narsingdi.
