Summer season crops need to be more focused and technical knowledge-based to get a good production in coastal areas. Summer season is one of the prominent cropping seasons in Bangladesh for crop production. It is mainly known as Kharif 1 season. Farmers also called it the pre-monsoon hot season. It starts on 16 March and ended on 15 July.
Summer season crops from March to April
According to the Bangla calendar, it is called Chitra month.
- Land Preparation for Aus Rice and repairing the aisle of the rice field for better use of rain and irrigation water.
- Retaining rainwater in ponds, Reservoirs, and canals.
- Mulching with straw, leaf, weeds, and water hyacinth for retaining soil moisture.
- Cultivating Dhaincha, yard long bean, mashkalai, etc for producing green manure.
- Early sowing of Sweet gourd, watermelon, cucumber, ridge gourd, bitter gourd, etc for protecting crops from drought.
- Raised bed cultivation should be practiced to reduce the wastage of water.
- Snake gourd, Bitter gourd, sweet gourd, ash gourd, brinjal, stem amaranth, and cucumber seeds sowing in raised bed around the homestead.
- Use mulching and irrigation water for plants as soil moisture reduces due to lack of rain.
- Farmers need to be extra alert because pest infestation may start in Rice fields.
April to May
According to the Bangla calendar, it is called Baishakh month.
- This month, there is a possibility for drought and it is a fragile time for Boro rice. It will be wise to ready irrigation during the reproductive stage of late boro rice.
- An early variety of Aus rice and Jute has to cultivate in this area to harvest crops before coming high tide and rain waters.
- The seed jars have to be preserved in a safe place to protect them from cyclones and tidal force.
- Have to use the right amount of irrigation water for Boro rice to reduce water wastage.
- Hail storms can occur in this month, therefore, it would be wise to harvest 80% ripen Boro rice.
- Raised beds have to be prepared for cucumber, bitter gourd, snake gourd, ridge gourd, sponge gourd, and for other vine-type vegetables.
- The trellis should be prepared as soon as possible for the vine-type vegetables.
- Hand pollination should be ensured for the pumpkin-type vegetables if flowering starts.
Summer season crops May to June
According to the Bangla calendar, it is called Jaistho month.
- Have to prepare seedbeds for transplanted Aman rice, vegetables, and other crops in high land to protect from high tide and rainwater.
- There is a possibility of damage to seedlings due to high tide and heavy rain. Therefore, extra seedlings should be raised.
- If there is a possibility of drought, then supplementary irrigation should be applied.
- Have to harvest rice if 80% ripened to protect ripe rice from sudden hail storms and storms.
- Old leaves and lower vines have to be trimmed if the vegetative growth is more.
- Summer mungbean could be cultivated.
- Dhaincha, Jute, and Shaun seeds have to sow for green manures.
- 30-35 days aged Green manure crops have to be incorporated with soils.
June to July
According to the Bangla calendar, it is called Aaashar month.
- Seedbeds for Transplanted Aman rice, vegetables, and other crops have to prepare on high land due to high tide and rainwater.
- Seeds and other necessary agricultural inputs must be preserved in high areas.
- A floating seedbed may be prepared for transplanted Aman rice if there is no land for raising seedlings due to high tides and rainwaters. Besides, seedlings could be raised by the Dapok method.
- Early transplanted Aman rice such as BRRI dhan33, BRRI dhan39, BRRI dhan40, BRRI dhan41, and BRRI dhan44 could be cultivated instead of late transplanted Aman rice to reduce the drought-related loss.
- During this time farmers can cultivate vegetables such as brinjal, okra, cucumber, ridge gourd, snake gourd, Indian spinach, Spinach, Stem amaranth, etc.
- Weeding and soil mulching have to be done for summer vegetables.
- All land must be well-prepared for releasing rainwater.
Farmers can follow the above agricultural crops to cultivate in saline-prone areas. It will ensure successful harvesting and sustainable livelihood.
