The farmers are expecting bumper production of litchi following excellent growth of the tender fruit amid favorable climatic condition this season in Rangpur division, official sources said.
The farmers have put maximum efforts now on nursing litchi trees in their orchards as growth of the tender fruit to become fleshy enough continues superbly amid frequent early rainfalls in the region.
According to market sources, the most popular and juicy, tasty and fleshy fruit will appear in the local markets by this month end when its harvest begins.
Like in the previous seasons, the litchi traders form Dhaka, Munshiganj, Gazipur, Kishoreganj, Chittagong, Sylhet, Comilla and other districts have already flocked to the region and completed purchase of the growing fruits in litchi orchards in advance.
According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources, 95 per cent of litchi trees in around 9,300 small, medium and big-sized litchi orchards and homesteads on over 7,500 hectares of land bloomed massively this time in the division.
Horticulture Specialist of the DAE Khondker Md Mesbahul Islam said that commercial litchi cultivation had already become popular bringing self-reliance to thousands of farmers through farming the fruit in recent years.
“The farmers have been mostly cultivating high yielding varieties like China-3, China-4, ‘Bedana’, Bombay, ‘Mozaffarpuri’ and Madrazi and late variety ‘Kanthali’ litchi following repeated bumper production and lucrative price every year,” he mentioned.
He said litchi has been cultivated in over 700 orchards on 4,180 hectares of land under all 13 upazilas in Dinajpur district that produces the highest quantity of the fruit in the country.
At the same time, the farmers have cultivated litchi in more than 150 orchards on 1,437 hectares of land in all eight upazilas in Rangpur district as cultivation of the most popular fruit has been increasing every year in the region.
Litchi orchard owners Mobarak Hossain of village Mouga Bottoli in Birganj upazila , Ziaur Rahman of village Ghughudanga and Hore Krishna of village Awliapur in Sadar upazila in Dinajpur expreswed hoped to get bumper litchi output this year.
Farmers Ziaur Rahman of village Ghughudanga under Sadar upazila and Nezamul Islam and Abdul Jabbar of Birganj upazila in Dinajpur also hoped to get bumper litchi yield this year following smooth formation of the fruit amid excellent climatic conditions.
Similarly, litchi growers Atiar Rahman, Aiyub Ali, Mozahar Hossain and Mohammad Ali of Sadar and Badarganj upazilas in Rangpur also expected to achieve bumper litchi production this season like in the previous years.
Regional Additional Director of the DAE Shah Alam predicted bumper litchi production this time adding that that commercial litchi farming has been expanding to bring fortune to many farmers with bumper production and excellent market price in recent times, reports BSS from Rangpur.
