M. Muslim Chowdhury, Srimangal (Moulvibazar) Correspondent //

Success has been achieved in cultivating summer onions on sandy soil in Srimangal, Moulvibazar.

Farmers are happy to have obtained the expected yield by experimentally cultivating this variety in Khalilpur village of Srimangal upazila under the supervision of the Agriculture Department.

The Agriculture Department said that it is possible to get yield from this variety not only in summer but also for 12 months. This time it will be spread throughout the district. Onion is usually cultivated in Moulvibazar in winter. However, it is not done commercially on a large scale. At the end of October last year, Raihan Ahmed of Khalilpur village of Srimangal planted two varieties of onion seeds, namely summer LT hybrid BGS 403 and Red Hill, from Lal Teer Seed Company.

Farmer Raihan Ahmed said that he wanted to bring these two varieties of seedlings for planting in the summer. Due to rain and the poor condition of the field, he planted two varieties separately on three percent of the land next to his house at the end of October. The November seedlings started growing. The harvest came in January.
He said that he did not have to work much after planting it. There was no pest problem. However, fungicides had to be used. He said that we usually cultivate winter vegetables in this area. This is the first time I have cultivated summer onions. And the yield was good.
Sreemangal Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Alauddin said that he planted the September seeds at the end of October because they were damaged in the rain. When he came in January, he noticed its good yield. However, among the two varieties, BGS 403 yielded better. Onion is more profitable than other crops and its production cost is also much lower. Therefore, if it can motivate farmers to cultivate it on a large scale, onion imports into the country will decrease.

Tapas Chakraborty, divisional manager of Laltir Seed, said that summer onion cultivation has not been done commercially in Sylhet division before. This is the first time that its bumper yield has been observed.
He said that 30 grams of seeds have to be sown per hundred square meters and the yield comes within three months. And the onions weigh 150-300 grams.

Shamsuddin Ahmed, deputy director of the district agriculture department, told The Daily Morning Sun that this is a good sign. Since summer onions are planted late and get good yield, it is expected that this variety will yield for 12 months. In this regard, a field day is being held to inform all the farmers in this area about its yield.

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