Panchagarh garden adorned with exotic passion fruits
Passion fruits, locally known as 'tang phal,' cultivated by Mohsin Ali of Baniapara under Chilahati union in Debiganj upazila of PanchagarhPhoto: STAR
Passion fruit, a vine species fruit of South American origin, now sees successful cultivation at Baniapara village under Debiganj upazila in the district. An excellent source of vitamins A and C, passion fruit has also been cultivated in hill areas of Chittagong for the last few years and Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute has evolved a local variety of BARI Passion Fruit-1 in 2003. However, the exotic fruit has been cultivated successfully on a plain land, for the first time in the country in Panchagarh, agriculture experts said. Md Mohosin Ali, a retired teacher of Baniapara village, brought two saplings of the foreign fruit from his relative's house in Debiganj upazila headquarters and planted at his house in 2008. The creeping plants grew well without care and within months crept on adjacent betel-nut and nim (margosa) trees. When the plants turned two years old, they flowered and shortly afterwards, green fruits resembling lemon appeared. The round to oval shaped fruits turned yellowish after three to four months. During a recent visit to the house, this correspondent saw around a hundred green and yellowish fruits, each weighing about 150-200 gram, on the plants. "In the first season 150/200 fruits appeared on the plants but we did not eat it, thinking it to be wild fruit. Later in the next season we enjoyed the fruits, making juice in the process suggested by the relative from whose house we collected the saplings," Mohosin Ali's son Md Shajahan, lecturer of Abeda Hafiz School and College in Panchagarh, told this correspondent. "Drinking the fruit juice, villagers are showing interest about it. Several people have collected saplings from us and planted it at their house prmises. Visitors from different areas often come to see the fruit which is new to them," Shajahan Ali said. The two plants have borne four to five hundred juicy fruits in this year. The plants bear fruits over the year but June-July is the main yielding season. As the juice colour is yellowish like locally available 'Tang' juice, locals call the fruit 'Tang phal'. An excellent source of vitamins A and C, passion fruit is eaten raw as well as used in preparing juice, desserts, mousse, cheese, cake, ice cream, etc. The fruit is also blended with honey, yogurts and cocktails to add refreshing flavours. "Scientific name of passion fruit is Passiflora edulis var flavicarpa, a vine species native to Brazil, Paraguay and northern Argentina in South America. The plant bears fruit almost all over the year but more abundantly during summer," said Deputy Director of Panchagarh Department of Agriculture Extension Md Alimuzzaman. "It is possible to cultivate passion fruit in Panchagarh district like orange as the soil here is mixed with rock and sand like that in hill areas. Its cultivation is very easy and needs short space and relatively less labour," he added. The creeping plants, which require support of trees or bamboo-made shelves, can yield fruits for several years, agriculture experts said.
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