MAGURA, Mar 12: One Moksed Mandal has achieved success in farming BINA-9 Mosur in Ramnagar village under Magura Sadar.
The farmer said cultivation of the lentil variety is profitable as 12 to 14 maunds of production can be achieved from a bigha of land. Besides, it is of short duration. The crop takes 95 to 100 days to be harvested while other common varieties need 110 to 115 days.
Moreover, the variety requires less irrigation and insecticides. It is less vulnerable to rust and blight diseases.
Mr Mandal said he expects 70 maunds of production from five bighas of land this season.
The grower said he collected seeds of BINA-9 Mosur from BINA, Magura office. "Five more cultivators in my village are also growing the lentil variety this season and they are expecting a good production", he added.
Scientific officer (Acting) of BINA, Magura, Shampa Rani Ghosh said BINA-9 Mosur cultivation starts in the district. "We have provided quality seeds to the interested cultivators. We have also plans to expand its farming", she added.
Senior scientific officer of BINA, Mymensingh Dr Snigdha Roy, inventor of BINA-9 Mosur, said country produces 0.8 million tonnes of lentil every year while demand is 2.5 million tonnes. "Bangladesh imports 1.7 million tonnes of lentil every year. If we expand the cultivation of BINA-9 Mosur variety, dependency on import will be reduced", he added.
