Singer lemon takes the market by storm

An acre of plantation can fetch rupees one million every year after three years

DERA ISMAIL KHAN:

The production of seedless lemons, encouraged by an unsatiated market in neighboring Afghanistan, has taken wings in district Dera Ismail (DI) Khan. Owing to the citrus fruit’s growing popularity, it has also started being cultivated in parts of Punjab, where it’s said to be generating considerable profits for growers.

However, the citrus variety first appeared in the country some 150 years ago, in a small village called Singer located a few kilometres from DI Khan district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The first tree is said to have been planted here by a local Qurishi clan, that served in the British Army. “The head of the family was posted I Bengal, where he encountered these seedless lemons and brought home several plants, which soon spanned much of district DI Khan, irrigated by water from the Indus River,” told Agriculture University professor Dr Asghar.

According to 70-year old Amanullah Qureshi, it was his forefathers who introduced the crop to the country and paved way for the economy around it. Although officials of the Agriculture department alleged that there were no funds to invest in the crop’s growth and development in the region, Amanullah said that his people have been relying on their own knowledge of fertilisers to ward off potential threats for the last century-and-a-half.

Professor Dr Asghar believes that it is a profitable crop for growers, sold for an estimated Rs4000 per 40 kilogrammes in the local wholesale markets. Whereas, in Kabul, it can fetch over Rs9,000 per 40 kilogrammes.

The seedless lemon crop is harvested twice a year, where the winter harvest is said to be the most lucrative. There is more fruit; it’s richer in colour and bigger in size compared to the summer produce. Dr Asghar however maintained that despite being a cash crop, Singer lemons require a lot of attention to grow. Constant irrigation is needed to avoid rat attacks while fertilisers are also a necessity for the crop’s growth. “A tree takes three years to start producing fruit. It is a lot of wait, but an acre of land can easily earn a grower a million rupees per year after that,” the professor told.

“Since trees are planted 15 feet apart from each other, there is also ample space to grow grains like wheat or vegetables on the same patch of land, to further maximise profits,” he added.

A local farmer who recently planted some 200 crops on an acre of land, shared that a single sapling costs about Rs250 in the open market. “It is locally called Singri lemon, which is becoming increasingly popular here and plantations are sprawling with every year. Even people with small one or two kanal plots are keen on planting it,” he told.

The Singer lemons, owing to their profitability, were taken to the Katcha area of Punjab, and later other parts of the province— where conditions were appropriate and growers wanted a to earn better money. The citrus variety has now reached Faisalabad, the third most populous city in Pakistan. Lemons are transported to Peshawar from where they are sent to Kabul, where they can fetch a handsome price. Rumors have it that the unique citrus fruit is being used to produce vodka in some Centeral Asian states, the professor alleged. “This would explain its unprecedented demand in the region,” he told The Express Tribune.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 26^th, 2021.