<i>Summer tomato can be a moneymaker for many </i>
Farmer Aminul Islam with summer tomato in his filed in Burshikura village in Netrakona Sadar upazila.Photo: STAR
A new value-added crop has opened the scope for fifty gains for farmers. Summer variety tomato evolved by Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) has attracted farmers' attention in Netrakona as it is highly profitable. With the help of BARI and local agriculture officials, Manzurul Haque and Aminul Islam of Barshikura village in Netrakona Sadar upazila cultivated summer tomato on small land holdings. They are now selling tomato in markets in Netrakona town at Tk 70 to 80 per kilogram. This correspondent during a recent visit to the village saw Aminul Islam plucking ripe tomato from his three decimal land. Manzurul Haque was working in his filed nearby. They said they cultivated summer tomato on advice of Rahima Khatun, Assuistant Agriculture Officer in Netrakona Sadar upazila. With the help of Rahima Khatun, they joined a day-long training on cultivation of summer tomato, provided by BARI at Gazipur four months back. BARI also gave them Tk 6,000 each to make sheds to protect the crop from rain. They were given BARI-3 and BARI-4 tomato seeds. They prepared the seed bed in mid-April and planted tomato seedlings in their fields in mid-may. They used TSP, Urea and Murate of Potash fertiliser as per advice of Rahima Khatun. As the plants bore flowqers in middle of June, they sprayed a hormoneTomatonprovided by BARI. Harvest began in the middle of July, which still continues, the farners said. Rahima Khatun told this correspondent that the tomato plants will bear fruit till October and the yield will be around three kilograms per plant. She said both the farmers will earn at least Tk 50,000 from the crop which will cost not more than Tk 6,000. Aminul and Manzarul said they cultivated summer tomato last year also. Their success has attracted a large number of farmers in the who are planning to cultivate summer tomato next year, they said.
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