UNB, Jhalakati :Unremitting tidal surges have left the cultivators of hog pulm, locally known as amra, in Jhalakati in utter frustration over massive damage to their crop.Farmers in the district, a prominent name for producing the fruit, are apprehending heavy losses of their produce due to damage causedby tidal surges in the past three months.Sources said crop fields in vast areas of the district were submerged due to sudden strike of tidal surges after cyclonic storm ‘Roanu’ lashed the country in the month of May, damaging huge standing crops and aman seedlings.The income from hog pulm production in the district accounts for a substantial portion of the rural economy.The fruit has a high demand for its nutritional value as well.Hog pulm, which is considered to be a source of lucrative income for the rural people, is mostly grown on the homesteads, roadsides and in fish enclosures.Farmers’ sources said several spells of tidal surges wrecked havoc on around 40 percent of hog pulm trees in the district this season.Hog pulm plants died in large numbers remaining under floodwater for long.Leaves of many hog pulm trees have turned yellowish, causing the young fruits to decay.Hog pulm growers in the district have been brought down to their knees by the flooding as even after recession of the floodwater, the tree roots remained soaked for long causing extensive damage of the plants.Besides, there had been less production of the fruit compared to the previous year.The fruit has already started appearing in the local markets and the growers are also getting satisfactory price.One maund of hog pulm is being sold at Tk1,000 (per kg Tk40) in the local markets.Traders from different districts buy the fruit from the markets here and supply it to their respective areas.According to the Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE), a total of 1,000 hectares of land were brought under hog pulm farming in the district this season and 7-10 tonnes of fruit have been produced from each hectare.During a recent visit, this correspondent found that most of the amra trees were affected by deceases as the leaves turned yellowish, giving a sign of their death extensively.
