1. Regional Context & Agricultural Challenge

Five-star hotels, cafes, and superstores in Dhaka previously imported chilled lettuce or struggled with gritty, pesticide-sprayed field lettuce that wilted within 24 hours during summer.

2. Technical Implementation & BARI Protocol Applied

A commercial hydroponic farm in Savar adopted BARI’s floating polystyrene sheet protocol inside a 50%-shade net-house. Sponge-block seedlings are transplanted at 14 days into 20 × 20 cm holes with a 3 cm root air gap and harvested just 28–32 days later with intact white roots.

3. Harvest Results, Economic Impact & Grower Outcome

Because the lettuce is harvested clean with zero soil contamination and delivered with living roots in breathable clamshells, shelf life increased to 10 days and the farm harvests 10 consecutive crops per year.