Fruit bagging technology in litchi in the offing

After achieving remarkable success in guava and mango, fruit bagging technology is going to be promoted in another delicious and tasty fruit litchi for the first time in the country. However, the farmers here are not habituated to using the modern technology as yet. Before motivating the growers a district level officer of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) has started using it experimentally attaining success, reports BSS.

In his own orchard at Matia Beel area under Paba Upazila, Monzurul Haque, Additional Deputy Director of DAE, has applied the bagging technology in a 15-year tree. With this, yield has been enhanced to a greater extent. He also witnessed bigger size besides deep red color.

Agriculturist Monjurul Haque told journalists that he had purchased bags at Taka 3.5 per piece. He kept 25 to 30 litchis in each bag. Hey harvested 4,000 bulbs from the tree last year whereas this year's yield is more than 6,000. No immature fruit drop occurred in storm as a result of using fruit bagging technology that also prevented attacks and damages by rodents contributes a lot to boost yield. As the fruits were protected inside the bag its size and color the fruits turned attractive in terms of size and color. "These litchis are hundred percent chemical-free", asserted Monjurul Haque.

Detailing his personal experience and expertise he said he used the technology by himself before expansion at the farmers level. Bagged litchis can be preserved in tree 10 to 15 days more than conventional method which is helpful of getting extra market price.

Additional Director of DAE Abdul Hannan accompanied by his district and upazila level colleagues visited the site last week saying Monjurul Haque attained success through using bagging technology in a single tree. DAE will replicate the success in the years ahead.

He said there are many litchi orchards covering some two lakh hectares of land in the region. Many more new orchards have been created in recent times.  If the bags were used substantially, use of harmful chemical insecticides and pesticides could be reduced to a greater extent.

Dr Alim Uddin, Principal Scientific Officer of Regional Fruit Research Station, said bagged fruits had high recovery of marketable fruits over the non-bagged ones.  He went on saying pre-harvest fruit bagging is a useful approach for plant protection and improved post-harvest fruit quality as bagging of litchi lowers chances of damage caused by insects and diseases. 

Litchi is one of the commercially important fruit crops in the region but the important cash crop is prone to attacks of insect pests and diseases at all stages of development. In

-AA Countrywide Desk