PROBLEMS WITH FIRST FRUITING IN DURIANS

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Durio zibethinus
FAMILY: Bombacaceae

Talking with durian growers after the first fruiting of certain trees in North Queensland this year, many confessed to being disappointed with their first tasting of this much-acclaimed fruit. This could be due to several different factors, and growers shouldn't give up on their trees too quickly, or expect results promised by trials elsewhere.

Voon Boon Hoe, Senior Research Officer with the Department of Agriculture, Kuching, Sarawak, had some observations to make on the subject of first fruitings in durians.

He said that trees grafted from wild stock and planted in an orchard situation, often took a number of years from that of first fruiting to develop a good "full-bodied" flavour, age or maturity of the tree being a factor determining fruit quality.

Voon also said that when selecting budwood from wild-growing durian trees with desirable characteristics, some characteristics like shape and seedlessness, will be retained, while others like good flavour or firm flesh may not be, due to idiosyncrasies of soil type, cross-pollination and other unknown factors affecting the parent tree.

West Malaysian varieties were not maintaining their size and quality when planted in East Malaysia, he also said. Local farmers backed up this last comment.

We might conclude that there is more to a durian than meets the eye, nose and taste buds.

Lauren Gartrell

DATE: September 1990

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