There is no alternative to irrigation to stop fruits from dropping, but water is scarce in the hilly region
This is the fourth successive year she has avoided the event at the Dhaka Cantonment.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will attend the event at Senakunja.
Khaleda last visited Senakunja on Armed Forces Day in 2012. Prime Minister Hasina had also attended, but the two did not speak to each other.
She avoided the event in 2013, before the 10th general election, and sent in Mirza Fakhrul to represent the BNP.
Last year, Khaleda returned to Dhaka from a trip on the night of Nov 21. BNP leader Lt Gen Mahbubur Rahman led the party at the event.