This is the first time that the potential Korean oilseed crop ‘Perilla’ is being cultivated in Tentulia upazila of Panchagarh in the far north. Edible oils are also produced from Perilla seeds like sunflower and mustard.
Although Perilla is native to China, it is known worldwide as Korean Perilla due to its widespread spread in South Korea. Although most of the farmers in the country are not yet aware of this Perilla crop, various researches are going on about the production.
Syed Roknuzzaman is cultivating Perilla on an experimental 2.5 acre land in Haradighi Kazi Para village of Buraburi union of the upazila for the first time in collaboration with the upazila agriculture office and to implement the oil seed crop among the farmers.
Going to the ground, it can be seen that the fresh Perilla tree has flowers. At first sight of the green Perilla seemed like a green ceremony or a vegetable garden. It looks a lot like a drinking leaf and each leaf is green.
Farmer Syed Roknuzzaman said, "I was given seeds from the agriculture office." Since the land was fallow, I decided to cultivate new crops and see what happens. This is the first time I am cultivating Perilla in Tentulia. The yield has also been fairly good. He said there was a huge influx of bees in the Perilla field. Besides cultivating Perilla, it is also possible to cultivate honey commercially. If the yield is profitable, we will cultivate Perilla and honey in more lands in future.
It is known that the breed was invented in a native way by Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University breeder Professor DR HMM Tariq Hossain and PhD Fellow Mohammad Abdul Qayyum Majumder.
Perilla is characterized by high levels of omega-3 fatty acids (50-60 percent), unsaturated fatty acids about 92 percent, free of harmful uric acid, and the oil has a fragrant aroma as it belongs to the mint family. It can be extracted from seeds in any type of flood-free land or soil, conventional oil refining machine.
Upazila Agriculture Officer Md. Jahangir Alam said, “I am trying to popularize mustard again. Sunflower is a very expensive oil crop and I am also trying to popularize it.” He said that the market price of mustard is Rs. 150 to Rs. 160, sunflower is Rs. It is unthinkable which one will actually stand in the field, it will depend on which crop the farmer will get the price of. They have not yet created a market, but there is a huge demand for it in the foreign market.
Read More: Integrated efforts to enhance oilseed production stressed
By producing this crop, the farmers can grind oil in any oil threshing machine. It is a very healthy oil crop because 40 to 45% of oil is available from this one kg Perilla which is not available from mustard and sunflower. From July to October, after the Aus planting, the farmer's lands fall fallow.
At this time someone planted mustard. Since this crop yields in two and a half months, if the farmers cultivate Perilla without leaving the land fallow, a good crop will emerge. It is possible to harvest this crop at home in 60-65 days. From that point of view, multiple crops can be grown on the same land.
For the first time in Tentulia, perilla has been cultivated across two and a half acres of land. He added that perilla leaves, vegetables and seeds can be used in oil production in two ways. There is a possibility of commercial cultivation of honey as there are a large number of bees in the field when Perilla flowers come.
In that case, the country's economic sector will be more prosperous if the cultivation of Perilla can be increased. Therefore, cultivation of this crop has been started with emphasis on maximum utilization of land. On the other hand, this oil is also very beneficial for the human body. Perilla contains 75% omega-3 fatty acids, which will help prevent diabetes, especially in the heart, brain, and skin.