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Diseases, late harvest dim potato prospect

Star Business Report
Farmers are in a dilemma over potato farming this year, as fungal crop diseases and late aman harvests dim prospects.
Farmers in Rangpur are worried as they have not been able to sow potato seeds in time because of late aman harvests.
Late monsoons were the main reason behind the late aman plantations this year in Rangpur, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Gaibandha and Nilphamari.
The ideal time to sow potato seeds is between mid-November to midDecember. Some farmers who cultivated early harvest varieties of aman, like BRRI dhan-33 and BINA dhan-7, were able to sow potato seeds in time, our Rangpur correspondent reports. The late sowing of potato seeds has been causing lowyields and outbreaks of crop diseases, for a few years now, they said.
Linking the late monsoon to climate change, MG Neogi, head of the Agriculture Wing of Rangpur Dinajpur Rural Service, said all must think about changing the crop patterns in the region.
Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) Deputy Director Rangpur Hazrat Ali said farmers are still sowing potato seeds without considering the consequences, encouraged by handsome profits last year.
Aftab Hossain of Nabdiganj under Pirgachha upazila, Rangpur, said he could not prepare about nine bighas of land for potato cultivation because he harvested aman paddy only a week ago.
“Although I know the consequences of late potato farming, I had to do so, as I preserved its seeds,” he said.
The Rangpur region is the second largest potato hub in Bangladesh.
According to targets, about 90,000 hectares will be brought under potato cultivation this year.
Potato seeds have been cultivated on about 80,000 hectares in the region until December 20, according to DAE records.
TANG AIL
Meanwhile, farmers inTangail district are not eager to farm potatoes, based on bitter experiences from last year. The target to produce potatoes declined this year by a third of last year's target, our Tangail correspondent reports.
Last year, the target to grow potatoes was set at 92,750 tonnes on 5,300 hectares in Tangail. However, 47,542 tonnes of potatoes were produced on 4,357 hectares, according to DAE officials.
The potato production target has been set at 63,735 tonnes on 3,863 hectares of land this year, officials said.
Tangail potato growers said they incurred huge losses last year because of various reasons, including scarcity of quality seeds, diseases aggravated by dense fogs and cold temperatures, problems with preservation and inability to receive fair prices for their produce.
Golam Mostofa, a farmer of Ashekpur village in Tangail Sadar upazila, said he cultivated potatoes last year on 80 decimals of land with the 10 mounds of potato seeds he bought at high prices. "I could not even get back my investment as fungal diseases got the better of my potato crops. This year, I cut potato farming by half and cultivated mustards instead."
Mohammad Ali, a fanner of Damn village, said: "A decimal of land usually produces a maund of potatoes. However, I did not even get a maund of potato from six decimals of land last season because of fungal attacks."
Tangail DAE Deputy Director Nikhil
Chandra Pal said farmers cut potato cultivation this season as they incurred losses last season. "We expect potato yields will be better this season, as we have initiated motivational programmes to regain farmers' confidence."
THAKURGAON AND PANCHAGARH Potato farmers in Thakurgaon and Panchagarh districts are struggling to save potato crops from fungal diseases, aggravated by fog and cold weather.
Authorities from DAE are distributing leaflets, with directives on applying medicine to protect the potato fields.
Thakurgaon DAE Deputy Director Daliluddin told The Daily Star that the low temperatures are not ideal for potato farming. The prolonged foggy season enhances growth of fungal organisms, he said.
"Once the organisms kick in, it is difficult to save the crops. So we suggest the farmers spray medicine before the disease strikes."
A total of 20,100 hectares have been bought under potato cultivation against a target of 20,110 hectares, with a target to produce 3,31,791 tonnes of potatoes this season in Thakurgaon.
In Panchagarh, about 4,800 hectares of land have been bought under potato cultivation against a target of 7,208 hectares, with a target to produce 1,18,932 tonnes of potatoes. Officials said the numbers might increase slightly as some farmers are cultivating potato now.
Shafiul Alam, a farmer of Moidandighi village under Boda upazila in Panchagarh, said he is spraying the medicine on his potato crops on two bighas of land as per directives, but some plants died in his field.
Worrying about crop health, he expressed his doubts on the purity of the medicine bought from the markets.