Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI) has developed one new jute variety and four cropping technologies which are expected to increase fibre, grain and veggie production, said officials.
The state-run research organisation has developed the new variety of jute "Vegetable Mesta 2" (known also as BJRI mesta 4) which is a high-yielding and stress-tolerant mesta jute species for vegetable purpose.
It was disclosed at the Technology Transfer Workshop-2023 of BJRI, held at the Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) auditorium in the city on Tuesday.
In the workshop, the BJRI delivered the new jute variety and four other mixed farming technologies to the agricultural ministry.
Presiding over the programme, BJRI Director General Md Abdul Awal said the institute has developed local jute seed extract which could prevent yellow mites, which is lethal for jute plants.
The BJRI also has developed a technology to kill the jute yellow mite by tea waste extracts (used tea).
He said another technology is cropping rotation -- cultivating Boro, followed by BJRI jute varieties and transplanted Aman in the same land.
And, a seed production technology of BJRI tosha jute 8 has been introduced to meet seed demand in the winter Rabi season, he added.
He also informed the workshop that Bangladesh exported jute and jute goods worth US$1.03 billion in the last financial year and expressed the optimism that the exports would increase further thanks to the new technologies.
BARC Executive Chairman Shaikh Md Bakhtiar said that if the jute technologies could be truly taken to the field level, production would increase notably.
Chief Scientific Officer at BJRI MD Babul Hossain told the FE that the new jute variety is for vegetable purpose as its leaves and calyx will also be used to make pickle, sweet-sour bar, jam, jelly, rosily tea, etc.
According to BJRI, the institute has so far developed 50 seeds and 20 technologies. Its scientists also decoded the genome sequence of jute long ago.
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