RAJSHAHI, April 2, 2019 (BSS) – A research team of Department of Botany in Rajshahi University (RU) has invented an ancient cotton variety of Egypt from
a village in the country’s southern district Bagerhat recently.
Under the muslin cloth manufacturing technology restoration project, the
team unearthed the variety after getting about its information from a student
of Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of the university.
“There is no scope of finding out the unique and the only variety from any
other part of the country,” said Prof Dr Monzur Hossain, a teacher of the
botany department and research head of the project, while talking to BSS here
today. Gossipeum Barbadense is the scientific name of the variety, he added.
He said sample of the variety was collected from the village in December
last year. Chairman of Bangladesh Handloom Board Rafiqul Islam, Director of
RU’s Institute of Biological Sciences Prof Firoz Alam and investigator Prof
Mustafizur Rahman were present at the time of sample collection.
Highlighting the salient feature of the variety Prof Hossain said it can
be an excellent opportunity of revitalizing the world famous muslin in the
country.
Prof Hossain presumed that the cotton variety might have been brought by
Saint Khanjahan Ali in the area when he came there from Middle East in 14th
century. In the contemporary time, cotton farming was plenty in Mosul of
Iraq.
In that time, the people used to make muslin cloth in Bangladesh majority
of them were from Masul.