The Pomology Division of the Horticultural Research Center of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute (BARI) has been organized a field day program titled ‘Integrated Coconut Crop Management’ today (Wednesday, March 30, 2022) at the fruit research field of the Institute. The program was funded by Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council's NATP Phase-II, PIU, Farmgate, Dhaka's project titled 'Development of Integrated Crop Management Technologies for Higher Production of Coconut in Bangladesh'. Scientists, officers, staff and farmer representatives were in the field day. On Field Day, research results on coconut fertilizer management, disease and insect management were shown to the farmers on the spot.
BARI Director General Dr Debasish Sarker inaugurated the field day in the morning as chief guest. BARI Director (Horticultural Research Center) Dr. Mossammat Samsunnahar presided over the function while Director (Planning and Evaluation) Dr. Apurba Kanti Chowdhury and Director (ORC) Dr. Md. Abdul Latif Akand were present as special guests. The Project Coordinator and Chief Scientific Officer of the Pomology Division Dr. Babul Chandra Sarker gave the welcome speech and the Principal Investigator of the project and Principal Scientific Officer of the Pomology Division Dr. Md. Jillur Rahman highlighted the details of the technology.
In his speech, BARI Director General Dr Debasish Sarker said that only 44% of the total demand can be met with the amount of different types of fruits produced in our country every year. Therefore, to meet the demand for fruits, about Tk. 10 thousand crore worth of fruits have to be imported every year. So we want to reduce the cost of imports by increasing the production of domestic fruits. This requires proper management of fruit trees. Especially in the case of coconut trees, farmers in our country think that it does not take care much. But this idea is not entirely correct. With proper application of regular pesticides, fungicides, fertilizers, it is possible to increase the production of green coconut or coconut manifold. I hope that through today's Field Day, the farmers present here will be able to benefit from the correct application of the coconut tree by gaining a thorough idea about its proper management.