Apel Kul cultivation in fish enclosures opens new doors of prospect for farmers

JHENIDAH, Aug 5: Cultivation of Apel Kul (plum) on limited span of land of isles of fish enclosures has opened new doors of prospect for small and marginal fish farmers of Gududia union under Dumuria Upazila in Khulna.
Fish farmers of Gutudia union previously used to cultivate vegetables on the isles of the enclosures. As the production costs were high and the farmers did not get fair prices against them, they switched over to cultivation of Apel Kul with a limited investment. Now they are being much benefited economically.
In 1 year and 3 months of plantation, Kul plants on the isles of enclosures start blooming and harvesting of fruits can be done within the following 3 months, growers said.
Many farmers including Anisur Rahman, Haridas Biswas, Nirmal Biswas, Abu Sayeed Liton, Nantu Khan, Mizan Tarafder, Kade Tarafder, Kazi Hafiz, Nimai Tarafder, Utpal Biswas, Sattar Fakir, Mahabubur Rahman, Mohammad Ali, Palash Fakir, Kesmat Mollah and Chan Mian are farming Apel Kul on the isles of their enclosures in the Gutudia block of the union.
Farmer Kazi Anisur Rahman of Gutudia village told the FE he cultivated 130 Kul trees alongside mango, guava, papa, banana, coconut, wood apple, lemon, pomegranate and hog plum tress on the isles of his fish enclosures covering 3.55 acres of land and got Tk. 1.5 million by marketing the fruits directly to Kawran Bazar in Dhaka last year. He had to spend Tk 5,000-7,000 including labour, medicine and fertiliser cost, he added.
The growers sold the Kul at Tk 100 per kg at Kawran Bazar deducting the carrying cost while the fruit was sold for Tk. 60 a kg in Khulna wholesale market last year, according to sources.
Purnendu Kukar Biswas, first successful Apel Kul cultivator at Gutudia area, said, "When I cultivated vegetables on the isles of my enclosures, I got Tk 15,000-20,000 per year. However, I earned maximum Tk 3,72,000 a year by fruits from 210 trees since the debut of Apel Kul cultivation in 2010 on the isles of my enclosures.
Tushar Kanti Biswas, Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer (SAAO) of Gutudia block said while there were around 78 orchards of Kul in his working area last year, the number of orchards this year has risen to 98.
Horticulturist Md. Mizanur Rahman, Daulatpur Horticulture Centre, told the FE, as sufficient sunlight is needed for apple kul cultivation, isles of enclosures are a suitable place for it. Since sunlight is ensured through pruning of branches of trees every year, fish and apple Kul tree do not harm one another. One more kind of fruit tree that can be cultivated conveniently on the isles of enclosures is guava, the officer added.