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Bumper pumpkin yield in Lalmonirhat char areas

S DILIP Roy, Lalmonirhat
Pumpkin farmers in the char (sandy lands emerged from riverbed) areas in the district are in all smiles as they are getting bumper yield of the popular vegetable this season.
Around 3,100 peasants of 30 villages in four upazilas under the district cultivated pumpkin on over 4,000 bighas of abandoned sandy lands in the basins of Teesta and Dharla rivers this year as it brings good profit, said sources of the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) in Lalmonirhat.
It takes only Tk 1200 to 1500 to cultivate pumpkin
on one bigha (27 decimals) of land and a farmer can harvest 400 to 500 pieces of pumpkin from there, said Azgor Ali, 55, a farmer at Rajpur, a Teesta River basin char village in Lalmonirhat Sadar upazila.
A pumpkin weighs four to eight kg and sells for Tk 6 to 8 per kg in the local market during this harvesting period, he said.
The prices see three to four times rise during off season.
"I cultivated pumpkin on eight bighas of sandy land. I have already harvested the vegetable and hope to earn over Tk one lakh from selling it within a
month," said Atiar Rahman, 48, of Kalmati Char in Teesta basin area of Lalmonirhat Sadar.
Nazir Ali, 48, another farmer of the same area, said he has already harvested pumpkin from four bighas of land and sold half of the yield for Tk 24 thousand.
"Pumpkin cultivation starts early January and its harvest begins in the midMarch. It needs only seeds and some compost fertiliser to cultivate pumpkin on sandy land. Little investment brings high profit if regular care is taken," said Sahidar Rahman at Dharla River basin Bowalmari Char
village of Lalmonirhat Sadar.
Lalmonirhat Sadar Upazila Agriculture Officer Mohammad Nuruzzaman said pumpkin cultivation on sandy lands can play vital role to mitigate monga (seasonal famine-like situation) in Teesta and Dharla river basin areas.
Besides, remains from pumpkin plants add to land fertility that helps cultivation of other crops next time, he said.
Farmers have urged the government to provide necessary support including seeds, fertilisers, and insecticides for large-scale pumpkin cultivation on sandy lands.