Sylhet sees successful squash farming

SA Shofieq, Sylhet :

Squash, a foreign variety of winter vegetable, has become a sensation among farmers in Dakshin Surma upazila Sylhet district, demonstrating high yields and lucrative returns.
Originating from Panama-Mexico, squash, akin to pumpkin, has swiftly gained popularity for its versatility as a vegetable and salad ingredient, boasting the highest mineral content among vegetables, including essential carbohydrates and proteins.
Jahir uddin, a vegetable grower from Raiykail village Jalalpur union Dakshin Surma Upazila, has recently achieved success in cultivating squash with the assistance of the Agriculture Department. Managing to grow squash alongside other winter crops on Two bigha of land, Jahir has not only diversified his produce but has also reaped financial rewards.
After a day or two, the produce is collected from the land and sold in the local market. Many are coming and buying from the land.
In the field inspection, it is seen that the squash trees planted in the land of Jahir Uddin of Raikhail of Jalalpur Union of the upazila have yielded. The weight of each piece of fruit ranges from 500 grams to one and a half kilograms. He is taking care of the land with two workers. Various winter vegetables including tomato, green pepper, cauliflower, cabbage and brinjal have been cultivated in the adjacent land. Farmer Jahir Uddin said, after returning from exile, he started cultivating vegetables on some local fallow land, unable to do anything else. Initially successful
I have been working in agriculture for 4 years. Chose agriculture as a profession. Seeing my success, many people in the area have come forward for agricultural work and the fallow lands have also come under cultivation. This is the first time I have grown experimental squash in 2nd century land. Sowed seeds from the market. I succeeded the first time. The land was already mulched. So it didn’t cost much. Only 3 thousand rupees have been spent. I have already sold 25 thousand rupees. I can sell another 40 thousand rupees.’
He also said, ‘One tree yields up to 10-20 kg. Discussions have been held with some super shops in Dhaka. They will buy squash from me in the future. Therefore, I have decided to increase the scope of cultivation in the future. Besides, I have been cultivating vegetables in advance for 4 years. First, we started cultivating tomatoes in a small area.
This year, I cultivated tomatoes in the 3rd century, cucumber in the 2nd century, palm eggplant in the 1st century, jali pumpkin in the 2nd century and horseradish in the 2nd century. The yield has been good, I hope I can benefit financially.
Highlighting the uniqueness of squash cultivation, Jahir noted that each squash weighs between one and a half to two and a half kg. As word spreads about this novel vegetable, local farmers are showing keen interest, visiting Jahir’s fields to learn about the cultivation methods and techniques.