Exotic dragon fruit is being cultivated in Ishwardi upazila of Pabna. A few years ago, the people of the country knew that it was a foreign fruit. However, with the passage of time, the production of this fruit increased in the country, now this fruit is being cultivated in many parts of the country. This fruit is now being sold regularly in the fruit shops of different areas of Ishwardi upazila. As it is profitable and the demand is increasing day by day, farmers are leaning towards cultivating this fruit.
It is known that the first dragon fruit cultivation in Ishwardi was started by Shahjahan Ali, a farmer who won the national award in agriculture. His house is in Bakhtarpur village of Salimpur union of upazila. There he built a farm called 'Ma-Moni Krishi Farm' on a few acres of land. In this farm, he is cultivating various fruits and vegetables including papaya, fruit, carrot, banana, cauliflower, cabbage. He started cultivating dragon fruit 10 years ago. Since then, the cultivation of this fruit is increasing in Ishwardi.
Shahjahan Ali Badshah said, the first cultivation of dragon fruit started in some countries of Africa and Europe. Then spread to other countries of the world through Vietnam, Thailand. Cultivation of this fruit is time consuming. Even so, after understanding everything, I collected the fruit seedlings 10 years ago and started farming according to the plan. Currently, he is cultivating this fruit on 10 bigha land. Papaya Badsha said that 110 to 120 seedlings could be planted at a land of one bigha. And four to five trees can be planted on one pole. Each pole yields 4 to 5 kg of fruit per month. A tree yields this delicious fruit twice a month. It is profitable. The fruit traders of Dhaka and other districts of the country including Ishwardi buy and market dragon fruit.
Another dragon fruit grower in Ishwardi Upazila is Rakibul Islam. He started cultivating this expensive fruit along with teaching. His house is in Sheikh Para village of Muladuli Union of Ishwardi Upazila of Pabna. In this village, he has developed a dragon fruit garden on his three quarter bigha land. After passing SSC, he completed Diploma in Agriculture and then Bachelor of Agriculture Education.
When asked how he came up with the idea of dragon fruit cultivation, Rakibul Islam said, eight months ago, he planted some indigenous fruit trees on the roof of his house. After seeing it on the internet, he ventured into dragon fruit cultivation. He said, eight months ago, dragon fruit plantation was started by planting saplings in another land of one hundred and two bighas and 12 katas. 537 pillars made of cement have been installed for dragon fruit trees on a total of three bighas of land. Each pillar has 4 to 5 plants. According to this, the number of trees in 537 pillars is 2500 to 2600. He said, the fruits are available from one year after planting. If the seedling is good, as long as the care is done properly, then the fruiting starts before one year. Rakibul said that 13 varieties of dragon fruit are cultivated. He is cultivating red, white, purple and pink varieties of dragon fruit as they are delicious and in demand. Their prices also vary. Dragon fruit is sold at the rate of 100 to 300 taka per kg depending on the type and color. He said that starting from the planting of dragon fruit saplings on three bigha land, including other expenses, he has spent 6 lakh taka. If the weather and general conditions are favorable for dragon fruit cultivation, he can start selling full dragon fruit from his garden from April next year. He hopes to earn more than 10 lakh rupees by selling this fruit next year.
Ishwardi upazila agriculture officer agriculturist Mita Sarkar said, dragon is a foreign fruit. Currently, many farmers are cultivating this fruit in different parts of the country. This fruit is also being cultivated in Ishwardi. It is a profitable fruit. A dragon plant starts bearing fruit within a year after planting. There is no risk of death of this tree. Fruits are available for up to 10 years. However, some trees bear fruit for up to 20 years if the rainwater drainage system, timely irrigation, and proper care are taken.
Recently Mita Sarkar visited Rakibul Islam's dragon fruit garden in Sheikh Para area of Muladuli Union upazila. He said, the agriculture officials here have been advising Rakibul Islam on dragon fruit cultivation. His garden is beautiful to look at. He worked tirelessly to develop the garden. Greenery surrounds the garden. Dragon fruit trees are lined up with poles. Moreover, after a few months, this garden will be filled with a few colors. After that, the official expressed optimism that Rakibul will make a profit by selling the fruit.