Cultivation of Calambo lemon has been gaining popularity in the district due to its economic prospect. A number of farmers had started small scale cultivation of Calambo lemon few years back on experimental basis in five upazilas of the district and achieved remarkable success.
Their success encouraged many others to cultivate and raise orchards of the juicy and extraordinary flavour fruit.
Seeing the interest of the farmers and suitable climate and soil of the district for calambo lemon cultivation, the Department Agriculture Extension (DAE) has taken a program to cultivate export quality lemon here in five upazilas- Palash, Shibpur, Belabo, Monohardi and Raipura. Under the programme a total of 50 new orchards of Calambo lemon (each orchard spread on one bigha) being set up in the four upazilas of the district. The department supplied 160 sapling of Calambo lemon to each grower of the orchards and all the growers got training on producing quality lemon.Besides, some farmers in different areas of the district raised a number of orchards in their own initiative and they are at present harvesting good quality lemon.
According to DAE Narsingdi, farmers in five upazilas of the district at present cultivating Calambo lemon in 4,000 orchards on 800 hectares of land. Harvesting of lemon begins from the month of April and continues up to November. The best harvesting period is April, May and October, November. This year the farmers have so far produced over 8,000 tonnes of lemon in the district.
Khandaker Mahabub, a farmer of Dattargoan village under Shibpur upazila of the district started lemon cultivation on 30 decimals lands in 2003. He succeed in cultivation of the Calambo lemon and raised garden by planting 1,000 saplings on 200 decimals of land from five years ago and the plants are growing well. Last year he got an excellent production from his gardens and earned Tk 4,00,000 selling the lemon last season. This year he is expecting more production and earnings. Farmer Babul Chowdhury of Lakshimipur village under Raipura upazila of the district also narrated his successful story of cultivating the Calambo lemon on over 600 decimals of land.
He said last year he earned Tk 12,00,000 by selling lemon from his garden. This year he is expecting an excellent production and more income selling lemon from his garden. Deputy Director, Department of Agriculture Extension, Narsingdi Shovan Kumar Dhar told this correspondent, Calambo lemon has great demand in the local markets and other markets. Now these varieties of lemon are being exported abroad especially European and Middle East countries. Each Kilogram of lemon is being sold at Tk 50 to 60 in the local markets which contain only 4 to five lemons. He said this year so far Narsingdi district exported over 3,000 tonnes of Calambo lemon to foreign countries.The Deputy Director said Calambo lemon tree generally grow on high fallow lands where scope of other crop cultivation is limited. Some 200 saplings can be planted on per bigha of land which produce an average 50 to 60 mounds. Each tree bears 80 to100 lemons in a year. He opined that the country could earn huge foreign exchange every year by exporting Calambo lemon.
