Daily Bangla Times: 

DINAJPUR- The cultivation of summer tomato is getting popularity day by day in the district during the recent years.Farmers of the district  are passing busy time tending to the fields by cultivating early summer tomato in the same land after harvesting potato and mustard crops by preparing sheds with bamboo and polythene.

Farmers of the district have started summer tomato cultivation from 15th Magh of Bengali month and still going on. The yield will be available from 15th Choitro of Bengali month.

Additional Director of Dinajpur Regional Agriculture Department Pradeep Kumar Guha said this information to the journalists at his office recently about the various successes of summer tomato cultivation, which is one of the crops in vegetable cultivation in the district.

He said that the unemployed youths have been encouraged to cultivate interest in early varieties of summer tomato as per the demand of the customers during the summer season and tomato cultivation has been started to cultivate tomato in the field.

"Last year, many youths became self-reliant cultivating summer tomato in the district. As a result, the interest in summer tomato cultivation has increased. If the weather is favorable, the district will have a bumper production of summer tomato this year, he said."

Farmers can easily send the summer tomato to any part of the country, due to the good communication system. So farmers and traders will benefit from this, he said.

Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) of the district Nuruzzaman Miah, said a total of 1,142 hectares of land under summer tomato seedlings have been planted in the district this year.

Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) office sources said farmers of the Dinajpur Sadar, Chirirbandar, Biral and others upazilas have planted tomato seedlings in their field. They have taken necessary measures to prevent the trees from falling down due to storms and rains with bamboo, twine and polythene.

In various upazilas, including Sadar, Chirirbandar and Biral, summer Vikoma, Provenship, Rani, Raja Kumar and Bipul plus early varieties of summer tomato are widely cultivated in the area. But this year, the most cultivation is Bipul Plus variety of tomato has been cultivated, due to the variety of Bipul tomato yield is very high, he said.

Tomato growers of the district are dreaming of a bumper crop of tomatoes this summer as the weather is favorable and there is no shortage of fertilizers and pesticides.

Mozammel Haque, 35, an unemployed educated youth in Enayetpur village of Biral upazila, said that I have planted Bipul plus tomato seedlings on 40 decimals of land. Flowers have started to appear on the trees and I am passing busy time tending tomato plants.

He also said that it will cost Taka 35,000 to 40,000 to cultivate tomato. Haque hoped to sell tomato worth Taka 260,000 and handsome amount will be profit.

Sona Miah, another tomato farmer of Auliapur village in Sadar upazila informed, he had planted summer tomato on 50 decimals of land. If the yield is good and the price is good, it will be very profitable.

Asaduzzaman, assistant director of DAE of the district said, 'The production of tomato has increased day by day in the district with the use of modern technology. Monitoring is being done all the time so that the tomato farmers do not face any problem. Farmers will get good profit by selling tomato at a good price.