Dragon fruit growing sees success in Jhenidah

Borhan Uddin has got the taste of success in just 18 months by cultivating dragon fruit, a relatively new variety in Bangladesh.
Borhan, 42, of Nishchintapur village under Kaliganj upazila said 16 months ago he planted 580 dragon saplings on his one bigha of land at his Khamar-Mundia village.
He said the trees have now started bearing the dragon fruits. “This has created sensation not in my village but also the whole Jhenidhah district,” Borhan boasted.
Thailand’s pitaya fruit is known as dragon fruit worldwide. Central  Africa was the first producer of this fruit but it is now widely grown in Asia. Dragon fruit is more known as a fruit from Thailand.
Agricultural entrepreneur, Rumpa Chakrabarty started her 10-acre orchard of 16000 dragon fruits in Ashulia's Marichkata village few years ago. She is the first-ever dragon fruit farmer in Bangladesh and so is her orchard.
Dr Rustam Ali, agriculturist and director of Universal Poultry Hatcheries Limited said two years ago, Borhan contacted with him and discussed about dragon fruit farming in details. “I, personally, collected fruit saplings from Mymensing Agriculture University.  Finally, in February, 2014 Borhan went on farming dragon fruit in his Khamar-Mundia village land,” he said.
Local people and teacher of Kaliganj Mostobapur Shammilito High School Mizanur Rahman said Borhan Uddin has done a miracle in the area. “We had never imagined that foreign fruit like dragon could be produced here,” he said.
He said other local people have been inspired by him. He is selling his fruits now at the rate Tk. 400 to Tk. 450 per kilogram. Its taste is good,
Borhan is now producing saplings commercially on 4 bigha’s of land.  He is producing 580 saplings and selling a piece at Tk. 60 to Tk. 70.
Borhan Uddin said his intial investment was taka two lakhs.
A farmer can get 500 kg to 600 kg fruits from one bigha of land. One can easily earn Tk. 1,50,000 to Tk. 1,60,000 from just one bigha of land in a season. Dragon fruit trees live for 18-20 years. He also said a mature fruit weighs 350 grams to 400 grams. In the months of June and July the trees start bearing fruits from flowers that blossomed 40 to 45 days ago.
Kaliganj upazila Agriculture officer Mosahraf Hossain said Borhan Uddin has set an example here in Kaliganj. He is getting profit now. The other people have been inspired to see this.
Dragon fruits have a surprising number of phytonutrients. Rich in antioxidants, they contain vitamin C (equivalent to 10 percent of the daily value), polyunsaturated (good) fatty acids, and several B vitamins for carbohydrate metabolism, as well as carotene and protein. Calcium is present for strong bones and teeth, iron and phosphorus for healthy blood and tissue formation. The benefits are realised in a number of ways, from a strengthened immune system and faster healing of bruises and wounds to fewer respiratory problems.

 

Dragon fruit growing sees success in Jhenidah

Borhan Uddin has got the taste of success in just 18 months by cultivating dragon fruit, a relatively new variety in Bangladesh. Borhan, 42, of Nishchintapur village under Kaliganj upazila said 16 months ago he planted 580 dragon saplings on his one bigha of land at his Khamar-Mundia village. He said the trees have now started bearing the dragon fruits. This has created sensation not in my village but also the whole Jhenidhah district, Borhan boasted. Thailands pitaya fruit is known as dragon fruit worldwide. Central Africa was the first producer of this fruit but it is now widely grown in Asia. Dragon fruit is more known as a fruit from Thailand. Agricultural entrepreneur, Rumpa Chakrabarty started her 10-acre orchard of 16000 dragon fruits in Ashulias Marichkata village few years ago. She is the first-ever dragon fruit farmer in Bangladesh and so is her orchard. Dr Rustam Ali, agriculturist and director of Universal Poultry Hatcheries Limited said two years ago, Borhan contacted with him and discussed about dragon fruit farming in details. I, personally, collected fruit saplings from Mymensing Agriculture University. Finally, in February, 2014 Borhan went on farming dragon fruit in his Khamar-Mundia village land, he said. Local people and teacher of Kaliganj Mostobapur Shammilito High School Mizanur Rahman said Borhan Uddin has done a miracle in the area. We had never imagined that foreign fruit like dragon could be produced here, he said. He said other local people have been inspired by him. He is selling his fruits now at the rate Tk. 400 to Tk. 450 per kilogram. Its taste is good, Borhan is now producing saplings commercially on 4 bighas of land. He is producing 580 saplings and selling a piece at Tk. 60 to Tk. 70. Borhan Uddin said his intial investment was taka two lakhs. A farmer can get 500 kg to 600 kg fruits from one bigha of land. One can easily earn Tk. 1,50,000 to Tk. 1,60,000 from just one bigha of land in a season. Dragon fruit trees live for 18-20 years. He also said a mature fruit weighs 350 grams to 400 grams. In the months of June and July the trees start bearing fruits from flowers that blossomed 40 to 45 days ago. Kaliganj upazila Agriculture officer Mosahraf Hossain said Borhan Uddin has set an example here in Kaliganj. He is getting profit now. The other people have been inspired to see this. Dragon fruits have a surprising number of phytonutrients. Rich in antioxidants, they contain vitamin C (equivalent to 10 percent of the daily value), polyunsaturated (good) fatty acids, and several B vitamins for carbohydrate metabolism, as well as carotene and protein. Calcium is present for strong bones and teeth, iron and phosphorus for healthy blood and tissue formation. The benefits are realised in a number of ways, from a strengthened immune system and faster healing of bruises and wounds to fewer respiratory problems.