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Tulshimala rice get popular among Khulna farmers


Published : 16 Apr 2021 08:51 PM

For last couple of years, a rare variant of paddy is becoming popular in Khulna region. Tulshimala, a paddy variant that originally came from Mymensingh region is suddenly generating a lot of interests among farmers in southern region.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) said that the variant Tulshimala somewhat become almost extint two decades ago. Being a high-graded scented paddy, this variant was mostly used for Biriani and other exotic food making. Only 20-25 thousand hectres now a days are being used to cultivate this variant. Though it is not a high yield breed, the scent and aroma of Tulshimala paddy distinguish it from the rest.

Additional Director of Mymensingh DAE said that 21, 303 hectres of land in 2020 were used for Tulshimala paddy cultivation. Yield per hectre for this variant stands around 1.57 ton. Recently, Farmers of Khulna district are getting interested in this variant due to its exoticness. Farmers of Batiaghata upazila this year are going to cultivate this variant, he added.

PR Director of Khulna University SM Atiar Rahman collected the seeds from Sherpur and gave 2 kilograms of seeds to a local farmer for experiment. At first, people were concerned about the growth of this variant in coastal area. But overcoming the odds, Tulshimala paddy yield in Khulna was successful.

Compared to other paddy variant, the seeds of Tulshimala are small. This paddy changes colour for five times before it gets ripe. From greenish to dark ash, then violate to blackened ash, this variant changes colour in each cycle of its growth. It takes 110-120 to fully get ripe from the initial plantation.

Officials of the agriculture office already visited the fields and preserved seeds. Locals said that the rice variant could be popularized among customer against regular scented rice variants. As this holds a huge amount of anti-oxidant, the health value of this is significantly higher. Morever, it can be cultivated in the coastal area despite the saltiness in the soil.

Due to the low cultivation rate, the product availability in the market is not high. Till now, it was only available in the markets of Dhaka and Mymensingh. Per kilogram of the Tulshimala rice costs from tk 120 to tk 140. Apart from Basmati, this is one of the most expensive rice variants in the country.

Professor Dr Monirul Islam of Khulna University is currently leaning towards experimenting on this rice variant. He plans to put its aroma and other specialties to other variants.

After tissue culture, we can see what this variant can offer us in future, he said.