Heat wave hits summer vegetables

The heat wave sweeping over large parts of the country is hampering growth and flowering of vegetables, reducing supplies and leading to consumers being forced to dole out more in their purchases.  

Take the case of Bogura, one of the major vegetable producing districts. Farmers in the northwest district said many of them could not grow and harvest vegetables properly, which was hampering supply of the perishables to the market.

Many of them are having to opt for irrigation in the fields as a drought-like situation is preventing the cultivation of the greens, according to data by the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE).

Farmers cultivated summer vegetables on around 6,500 hectares of land in the district in 2022. This year, the area used has reduced to nearly 4,500 hectares.

Nationally, farmers have so far grown summer vegetables on 2.96 lakh hectares until May 7 this year against a target of 3.66 lakh hectares.

Farmers were not able to prepare the land for a lack of rain and are still having to do with delayed rains, said Farid Uddin, sub-assistant agriculture officer at the DAE's Bogura office.

Abdul Mannan, a farmer of Shahnagar village of Bogura's Shajahanpur upazila, planted bitter gourds on 20 decimals of land.

"But due to excessive heat and a lack of rain, the plant did not grow well. I have to irrigate every two days, so the cost has increased," he said.

Farmers are attempting to grow pointed gourd, bitter gourd and yardlong beans but their leaves are curling due to a lack of rain, said Zahir Uddin, another farmer at Baro Pathar village of the same upazila.

"The yield we are getting is half of what we got the previous year," he said. Several farmers in other districts, namely Habiganj, Dhaka and Manikganj, echoed Zahir.

Growers said the temperature rises during summer but the extent of heat was higher this year and this was affecting plant growth.

Due to excessive heat and a lack of rain, plants did not grow well. I have to irrigate every two days, so the cost has increased.

— Abdul Mannan A farmer from Bogura

Normally, according to farmers, they do not have to irrigate their vegetable fields during this time as it rains.

"This time it has to be irrigated a lot. The yield is halving and the cost is doubling. The top of the plant is drying up in the heat. Even the water is not working," said Atiqul, another farmer of Bogura.

Md Kobbad Ali, a farmer in Savar of Dhaka district, said the heat wave came about from the first week of last month.

"We did not feel such hot temperatures in the past," he said, adding that the heat wave stymied the growth of crops. "We are getting smaller sized crops," he added.

Amidst the heat, Shahar Ali, a farmer at Manikganj, has been irrigating his vegetables fields for the last couple of days. "But we cannot irrigate every field," he said, adding that snake gourd and okra plants were suffering the most.

However, the dry spell enabled farmers in the northeast region to harvest Boro rice crop safely, Md Tajul Islam Patwary, director (routine charge) of field service wing at the DAE.

Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute Director General Debasish Sarker said they were advising farmers regarding the ways of irrigation. "We are alerting farmers about the risk of pest attack if the heat prolongs," he said.

Bangladesh has turned into a "heat island" because of the reduction of surface water and deforestation, said Abul Faiz Md Jamal Uddin, professor of department of horticulture at Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University.

Because of rise in temperature, carbon balance in the air has been affected. "As a result, we see burning of leaf for heat…we will see negative effect on yield," he said.

"Farmers also have to delay planting vegetables and other crops as they cannot prepare the land in absence of rain," he said.

To avoid further problems, he said, surface water bodies must be protected and retained. This will increase water holding capacity, increasing the organic content in soil to enable farmers to grow crops, he added.

A mild to moderate heat wave may sweep over places in Rangpur, Rajshahi, Mymensingh, Sylhet, Dhaka, Khulna, Barishal & Chattogram divisions during the first half of the week beginning from May 9, said Bangladesh Meteorological Department.

The situation may turn for the better during the second half of this period, it said, citing a possible landfall of low pressure which may turn into a cyclonic storm.

In this regard, farmer Kobbad said excessive rainfall could also detrimentally affect vegetables.

Rafikul Islam, a vegetable grower of the Mohasthan vegetable wholesale vegetable market at Mohasthangarh at Shibganj Bogura, said many farmers were yet to plant vegetables. "They are waiting for the rains," he said.