Widespread use of harmful hormones in orchards, especially those for pineapple and banana in hilly Modhupur and Ghatail upazilas in Tangail district, is posing serious health hazards for human. The practice is also causing serious damage to environment and biodiversity. The two upazilas produce around 1,50,000 tonnes of pineapples a year but famous Modhupur pineapple is losing its taste as different kinds of harmful hormones and chemicals are used to increase the yield, ripen the fruits early and make them look larger. Consumers of fruits treated with hormones and chemicals become vulnerable to different kinds of diseases including cancer. Environment-friendly worms and insects are also decreasing fast as a consequence of rampant use of the chemicals. In Tangail district, pineapple was cultivated on 7,650 hectares of land including 6,510 hectares in Modhupur upazila and 1560 hectares in Ghatail upazila this year, said sources at Tangail AED. Banana was cultivated on 7,203 hectares of land including around 4,000 hectares in Modhupur upazila and 2,500 hectares in Ghatail upazila. During a recent visit to Modhupur upazila, this correspondent talked with local pineapple and banana farmers and agriculture officials. Most of the pineapple farmers of Modhupur are very poor and they cultivate fruits borrowing money from local moneylenders, said pineapple grower Annengsan Keang, who is an indigenous Garo man of Bhaduria village in Modhupur upazila. It requires three years to get pineapple yield but the plants grow quickly and the fruits get larger if hormone is used during the budding stage, he said. Local pineapple and banana growers said they use 'planofix' hormone in their fruits during the budding stage to make the fruits larger and get yield early. Besides, 'ethrel' hormone is used after harvest to ripen the fruits and make them look yellow. The farmers use excessive amount of these hormones in fruits, experts said, adding that the two types of hormones pose serious heath hazard as they can cause cancer in human body. When contacted, Haripada Gosh, deputy director of Tangail AED, told The Daily Star that mobile teams comprising officials of upazila administration and agriculture department are patrolling in the area to stop the ill practice of using harmful hormones and chemicals in orchards. AED have been holding motivational programmes to create awareness among the local farmers about the harmful effects of these hormones and chemical fertilisers, he added.