In the wake of much interest among the farmers and others concerned, acreage of wheat farming in bed-planting method has started gaining popularity in the region including its vast barind tract for the last couple of years, reports BSS.
In the current season, the wheat farmers are harvesting better yield like the previous year through adopting the bed plantation system. Not only in the wheat farming, the farmers were seen showing to adopt the method in some other seasonal crops like mugbean, maize, potato and lentil in next season.
Some of the farmers, scientists and researchers narrated the success story while talking to BSS here yesterday. They revealed that raised-bed planting of wheat is advantageous in areas where ground water level is receding and herbicide-resistant weeds are creating a problem.
Farmers, Ashraf Ali and Abdul Latif, of Baduria village under Charghat Upazila of the district said that they got two bed- planter machines from Regional Wheat Research Center (RWRC) and cultivated wheat on around 250 bighas of land last year. They harvested 5/7 mounds more yield from per bigha of land than the conventional system.
The donation inspired them to purchase two machines. By which, they brought around 450 bighas under the wheat farming in the current season.
Besides, they have become machinery service providers and are doing business and making money through sowing seeds on others lands. Similarly, the landowners are also getting benefits in the system.
The farmers, however, said they need subsidy to purchase adequate planters for large-scale expansion of the wheat and other crops farming in the region.
RWRC Principal Scientific Officer Dr Ilias Hossain told BSS that the wheat was cultivated on around 0.16 million hectares of land in the region this year and 5,000 hectares of those were brought under the bed-plantation method. He expected that the wheat farming in the modern system will be increased in next season.
Bed planting improves water distribution and irrigation efficiency, gives better results in using fertilizers and pesticides and reduces weed infestation and crop lodging. It saves crops from disturbance from rats, Hossain opined.