Commercial production and marketing of strawberry begins in Panchagarh & Rangpur....By Mamun Islam

RANGPUR, Bangladesh, Feb 6 (BSS) - Production and marketing of strawberry have been started on commercial basis after its successful farming in Panchagarh district paving the way of tremendous economic prospect for the farmers. Jessore Golden Seed Farm (JGSF), a subsidiary organisation of Jessore Ulshi Himagar, achieved the success after eight months of undertaking a strawberry farming programme on 2.7 acres of land in Panchagarh. Earlier, Bangladesh Strawberry Association (BSA) launched a coordinated strawberry research activity involving the JGSF at Haldharjyote village in Sadar upazila of Panchagarh on July 10 last. The JGSF then launched a Strawberry Nursery Research Project (SNRP) with the assistances of pioneer of strawberry farming in the country Prof Dr Manjur Hossain of the Department of Botany of Rajshahi University (RU). Strawberry farming will soon gain huge popularity everywhere in the country's northern region, as its farming was also successful in the Barind area for the last couple of years and the fruit has tremendous economic prospects, experts said. Launching of the SNRP and its huge success in shorter period, have created enthusiasm among the farmers to go for massive cultivation of the nutritious fruit in Panchagarh and adjoining districts. Professor Dr Manjur Hossain first launched the strawberry farming using tissue culture method and the BSA undertook a series of programmes to expand its farming in the country. On Tuesday, a commercial harvesting and marketing ceremony of strawberry was organised at the JGSF farm with Additional Deputy Commissioner of Panchagarh Manjur Hassan Bhuiyan in the chair and Prof Dr Manjur Hossain attended as the chief guest. Pathologist of the Department of Botany of the RU Prof Shah Alam, RU Prof Dr Rafiul Islam, Editor of the Daily Kallyan Ekram Ud Doula and Directors of JGSF Hafizur Rahman Pintu and Mofizul Islam Mohan were present as special guests. They expressed satisfaction on the yield rates of strawberry and said that 1.5 tonnes strawberry have been produced per bigha (every 33 decimals) during this season, market price of which stands at around Taka 8-10 lakh on an average. They asked the farmers for its large-scale farming and said that the JGSF has signed agreement with Agora and Nondon in Dhaka to supply strawberry at Tk 650 per Kg and the later will sell at Tk.850 per Kg. They said that the field level farmers could easily sell the produced fruits at Taka 500 per kg after harvesting about 2000 kg fruits from one bigha of land after cultivating at the cost of Taka 25, 000 to earn up to Taka eight to 10 lakh every season. Some 6,000 strawberry plants can be planted in one bigha and each plant can produce 250 to 300 grams fruits to provide the farmers maximum profits than any other crop when the country imports 50 tonnes of it annually from Thailand, Australia and USA. They said that the soil, climate and topographic conditions of the sub-Himalayan districts are suitable for strawberry cultivation that led to the successful farming of the fruits in Panchagarh making the people more hopeful for a better economic future. With great export potential, the attractive fruit could open a new horizon for the farmers of the northern region to earn more profits from less land area including the homesteads when the country's cultivable land area has been decreasing gradually, they said. While talking to BSS on the occasion, Dr. Manjur Hossain told that the SNRP was set up for expanded cultivation of strawberry and popularise the same among the farmers of Panchagarh and adjoining sub-Himalayan districts where the climate is favourable for it. He said that strawberry usually grows better in the countries where winter prevails most of the time and keeping all these factors in view, we developed the species that could be grown here and suitable for Bangladesh climate. He narrated as how three verities of strawberry RU-1, RU-2 and RU-3 (Rabi-1,2,3) were evolved through tissue culture method using Semiclonal Variation Technology at the Plant Breeding and Gene Engineering Laboratory at his Botany Department in RU. "Of the three verities, the RU-3 is suitable for our local climate and it produces saplings faster than the other two species and found very impressive in colour, size and taste," he added. He also said strawberry cultivation is as easy as growing potato and brinjal and it is better to plant the saplings into prepared lands in matted, ribbon and hill plasticulture rows during the months of November and December. The plant starts flowering within one month of plantation and fruits can be collected after four months and onwards and an 8- hour long sunshine a day and irrigation and drainage facilities are prerequisites for better strawberry cultivation. He said that use of organic and compost fertilizer use would be preferred for preparing land and the plantation area should be covered with plastic nets or other devices to save the fruits from the birds.. Dr Manjur told BSS that there are bright prospects of exporting our locally produced high quality strawberry abroad including Europe as the same does not grow there during the winter. Strawberry contains proteins as well as vitamins like A, C, and E, minerals, folic acid, selenium, calcium, polyphenol, alaric, frolic and cumaric acids and quertcitin, xanthomycin and phytostable and some of them can prevent cancer and AIDS. He said emphasis should be given to dissemination of technological ideas about strawberry farming and its marketing process side by side with innovation of ways and means for further expansion of cultivation of this cash crop.