RAJSHAHI, Nov 1, 2019 (BSS) – Fruit Research Station in Rajshahi under
the Bangladesh Agriculture Research Institute (BARI) has invented Batabi
Lebu-3 variety.
The high yielding BARI Batabilebu-3 variety has already gained
popularity everywhere in the region for the last couple of years in terms of
production and farmers earning.
Principal Scientific Officer Dr Alim Uddin of the station revealed this
while presenting his keynote paper on the variety in a farmers’ field day
meeting at the station conference hall here yesterday afternoon.
More than 100 farmers and other scientists and researchers concerned
attended the meeting.
Additional Secretary (Research) of the Ministry of Agriculture
Komolaranjan Das addressed the meeting as the chief guest while Director
General of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute Dr Shahjahan Kabir and its
Chief Scientific Officer Dr Aminul Islam also spoke on the occasion.
Highlighting salient feature of the variety Dr Alim, who was principal
investigator of the variety, said the fruit is enriched with sweetness and
vitamin-C and plays an important role towards improving rural economy due to
its economic value.
He said the Rajshahi and its adjacent areas have been regarded as the
country’s most prospective fruit producing region. Production of fruit is one
of the major income-generating activities in the region.
Dr Alim Uddin added that the people are becoming increasingly interested
in horticulture and planting various fruit saplings around their homesteads
or nearby open spaces.
Fruit farming becomes most profitable than other crops in recent years
bringing fortunes to thousands of farmers and commoners in the region during
the past few years.
This trend has created a huge demand for saplings of fruit bearing and
other trees in the area, he added.
Komolaranjan Das urged the attending farmers to produce safe fruit
through adopting the bio and organic fertilization and pest management method
for the greater interests of protecting the public health from any sorts of
hazards.
Later on, the guests and scientists visited the batabi lebu orchard in
the centre compound and witnessed the farming and production process.