Bumper yield of B Hybrid-8 expected as Boro harvest on

GOPALGANJ, May 15: Farmers in Gopalganj sadar upazila are expecting a bumper production of B Hybrid Dhan-8 as Boro paddy harvesting is going on in full swing now in the district.

According to the Upazila Agriculture Office, 18,100 hectares of land were brought under farming of the B Hybrid-8 paddy variety in Gopalganj sadar upazila this year.

The production target was fixed at 1,81,000 tonnes at the rate of 10 tonnes per hectare (247 decimals), sources said.

The Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE), Gopalganj sources said Boro paddy was cultivated on 81,380 hectares of land in five upazilas of the district this year and a maximum of this was covered by B-Hybrid Dhan-8 with total production target of 5,85,936 tonnes, the DAE sources said.

Mafroza Aktar, upazila agriculture office (UAO) of Goaplganj Sadar, told the FE that Boro paddy harvesting was going on in full swing and by this time 80 per cent of paddy has been harvested.

Production has been very well this year and farmers in the region are very much happy with their Boro yield, especially that of B-Hybrid Dhan-8, UAO added.

Nawshair Ali Mollah (60), a farmer of Singarkul village in sadar upazila of the district, said he cultivated Boro paddy of B-Hybrid Dhan-8 variety on two bighas (120 decimals) of land and got approximately five tonnes (138 maunds) of paddy.

Nawshair also said the variety of paddy is much productive which he collected from the Upazila Agriculture Office at the beginning this year.

Nazma Haque, sub-assistant agriculture officer (SAAO) of Latifpur union in sadar upazila, told the FE that B-Hybrid Dhan-8 was creating huge popularity among the farmers of the region and it was higher-yielding than any other paddy varieties.

This paddy's production per hectare is 10 tonnes; besides, less pesticides and fertilisers are required for its cultivation. As a result growers more benefited from the crop, the SAAO added.

Fakir Mohammad Palash (30), a farmer of Char Manikdha village in Latifpur union said, he cultivated 'B-Hybrid Dhan-8' on 52 decimals of land this year.

The harvest has already been completed and he got 65 maunds of paddy. Barely 138 to 148 days after planting, farmers can harvest the paddy, Palash added.

Sanjoy Kumar Kundu, additional deputy director (crop) Khamarbari, Gopalganj, told the FE that B-Hybrid Dhan-8 was an advanced and much productive new paddy variety. Farmers are getting yield of 10 tonnes per hectare of land.

Consequently, they are increasingly switching to it from other paddy varieties, Mr Kundu added.

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