RAJSHAHI, Jan 24 (BSS): Potato farming through net house system for multiplying the tissue-culture based seed-potato successfully has been gaining popularity in the region.
Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal, a commercial farmer of Mollikpur village under Paba upazila, said number and acreage of the modern farming method has been enhanced significantly for the last couple of years because of its better output.
He has transplanted 4,000 plantlets while Mustafiz of Ghipara village 2,000 plantlets and they were very busy nurturing their growing plantlets.
Nur Alam of Khanpur and Masum of Parjunpara under Mohanpur upazila and Ali Afzal of Jamalpur village under Bagmara upazila said that they are very happy with the present farming condition.
Mijanur Rahman Kazi, general secretary of Seed Potato Growers Cooperative Society, told the news agency that around 500 seed growing farmers were very happy with their satisfactory yield achieved through using the net-house farming method last year.
He said the farming of foundation seed of potato through using tissue culture technology and net-house system has gradually been gaining popularity everywhere in the region for the last couple of years.
The private entrepreneurs are showing interest in boosting the mother potato-seed production locally after using the modern technology instead of depending on the local seed.
Apart from this, the potato growers are also showing their interest in cultivating potato through using the foundation seed as they have been reaping more yields.
He said the existing crisis of breeder seed could be solved easily through successful expansion of tissue culture technology at the grassroots as there was a bright prospect of enhancing the production of breeder seed through best uses of the innovated technology.
In addition to comparatively higher production and hygienic, the tissue culture seed was 100 per cent virus and disease free, healthy, high quality and environment-friendly, he informed.
Potato production could be enhanced at least 50 per cent on the existing acreage if only the quality seed were ensured among the growers.
Mustafizur Rahman, additional director of Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), said there has been a tremendous demand for tissue cultured plantlets in the region.
Not only farmers, but many educated youths, business personnel and traders have become self-reliant by using tissue cultured saplings in this region, he added.
Prof Monzur Hossain of Rajshahi University, pioneer in innovation of tissue cultured saplings, said they had innovated the method of producing tissue culture potato-seed in 1987.
Since then, he has been disseminating the developed technology to both the private and public level seed producing farms significantly.
To meet the local demands, the nation had to depend on import from abroad through spending huge hard-earned foreign currencies, he added.
