Malta farmers in Chatmohar upazila of Pabna have already started collecting Malta from gardens. They are happy to get good yield and price.
Although Malta is a mountainous fruit, some three years ago some farmers started cultivating Malta fruit on an experimental basis in the flat lands of Chatmohar. Seeing their success, others also have become interested in cultivating Malta. As a result, there is a possibility of increasing the scope of Malta cultivation commercially.
According to the Chatmohar Upazila Agriculture Office, Malta has been planted on 15 hectors of land in Chatmohar this season. Yield is expected to be 15 to 16 metric tons per hector. As such, 225 to 240 metric tons of Malta can be produced in Chatmohar.
Yasin Ali Swapan, a Malta farmer from Mulgram Union of the upazila said that with. With the encouragement of local Nursery owners, he started cultivating Indian and Bari-1 varieties of Malta. In 2016, he cleared the low plain forest in front of the house and planted 72 Malta trees on one bigha of land. In 2020, he started to sell Malta at Tk 150 per kg.
Swapan added that Malta is a very profitable crop. If cultivated commercially, planting 100 trees in one bigha of high sunny land can easily earn around Tk 200,000 per bigha in adulthood. The cost per bigha per year is about Tk15 thousand. ”
Sanwar Hossain, another Malta farmer from Uthuli village in Mathurapur union, said that his elder brother and he developed a Malta garden on 1.5 bighas of land under the NATP-2 project in collaboration with the agriculture department. They sold Malta for about Tk60 thousand. Seeing the profit, many people in the area became interested in Maltese gardening. Heavy rains this year have taken a toll on Malta's agriculture. They have already started collecting ripe green fruits. He hoped to make enough profit again.
Chatmohar Upazila Agriculture Officer AA Masum Billah said Malta is a fruit rich in vitamin C. Malta is good for highlands where rainwater does not accumulate. Soils with pH that are acidic are good for cultivating Malta.
He further said that the soils of Gunaigachha, Mathurapur, Haripur, Mulgram and Dibigram Union of Chatmohar are suitable for Malta cultivation. Malta produced in this area is in great demand in the local market. The taste and sweetness of green Malta is no less than any other Malta.