RAJSHAHI, April 9, 2021 (BSS) – Crops especially wheat and maize farming in bed-planting method have been gaining popularity in the region including its vast barind tract.
Wheat farmers cheered up over harvesting better yield this season through adopting the bed plantation system.
Farmers are also taking this method in some other seasonal crops like mungbean, maize, potato and lentil.
Dr Ilias Hossain, Principal Scientific Officer of Rajshahi Regional Station of Bangladesh Wheat and Maize Research Institute narrated the success story of bed-plantation while talking to BSS here yesterday.
He said that bed planting of wheat is advantageous in the areas where ground water level is receding and herbicide-resistant weeds are creating a problem.
He said wheat was cultivated on around 1.03 lakh hectares of land in the region this year and 25,000 hectares were brought under the bed-plantation method.
He expected that the wheat farming in the modern system will increase in next season.
For planting wheat on beds, a tractor drawn bed planter is used. The bed planter is mounted at the back of a medium size tractor.
Under the conventional system, planting wheat late in winter leads to a poor yield and sowing in beds could be a good alternative, he said.
Farmers, Ashraf Ali and Abdul Latif, of Baduria village under Charghat Upazila of the district said that they purchased two bed-planter machines and cultivated wheat on around 450 bighas of land this year.
They harvested 5/7 mounds more yield from per bigha of land than the conventional system.
Besides, they have become machinery service providers and are doing business through sowing seeds on others lands. Similarly, the landowners are also getting benefits in the system.
The farmers also received subsidy from the government for purchasing planters for large-scale expansion of the wheat and other crops farming in the region.
Sirajul Islam, Additional Director of Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), said bed planting improves water distribution and irrigation efficiency, gives better results in using fertilisers and pesticides and reduces weed infestation and crop lodging. It saves crops from disturbance of rats.
The pattern helps farmers save 30 percent irrigation water and 30 to 40 percent of seeds and fertilisers.
Agriculturist Islam recommended successful promotion of this method for sustainable wheat production.
Meanwhile, more than 5.26 lakh tonnes of wheat are expected to be produced from around 1.44 lakh hectares of land during the current season in all eight districts under Rajshahi division.
The DAE has set the target of producing 3.76 lakh tonnes of wheat from 1.03 lakh hectares of land in four districts of Rajshahi agricultural zone while 1.50 lakh tonnes from 41,065 hectares in four districts of Bogura agricultural zone.
Harvesting and threshing of the cereal crop is on the final stage in the region at present.