Durian: Crop Production Cycle and Orchard Management Practices
Durian orchard
Durian fruits almost ready for harvest
Durian trees are perennials and they use all the food reserves in the trunk, branches and twigs for fruit production. After each fruiting season, all these food reserves are used up and need to be replaced. If the replacement is insufficient, the trees will not bear a good crop in the following season, or it may not fruit at all. And they have about five months to prepare enough food reserves for the next season.
Durian trees take up nutrients year after year from the soil around them. Fertilizers are needed to maintain the health and productivity of the the trees.
More nutrients are needed as the trees grow older and bigger. Less vigorous trees require more nutrients to help them recover. The higher the yield in the previous season, the more nutrients is required to help the trees recover faster for the next season. Durian requires different proportions of N, P, and K as the tree reaches different developmental stages.
Durian orchard management follows closely that of the durian crop production cycle. This crop cycle is very dynamic and there is no clear-cut cross-over from one stage to the next. There is always some overlaps. The development stages are greatly affected by the environment, the durian clones or cultivars and vigor of the trees. Even individual tree exhibits different stages of crop development on different parts of the trees.
Some of the regular farm practices carried out by the durian farmers are fertilizer applications, pruning, irrigation, pests and diseases control, weeding, assisted pollination, fruit thinning and harvesting.
In general, one crop production cycle has seven development stages as follow:
Durian Crop Production Cycle
in The Eastern Region of Thailand
- Fruit Mature - Harvesting - Post-Harvest Stage
- Flushing Stage - Leaf Growth Stage
- Durian Tree Preparation - Flowering Stage
- Recover Stage - Food Collection
- Flowering Initiation Stage
- Flowering - Young Fruit Stage
- Fruit Growth Stage
Crop Proction Cycle: Mature - Harvesting and
Leaf Flushing and Growth Stages
Mature durian fruits
Fruit Mature - Harvesting - Post-Harvest Stage
Depending on the durian clones, the fruits will mature and drop 3-5 months after flowering. In Thailand, most of the mature fruits are harvested manually and then allowed to ripen. In Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines, mature fruits ripen on the trees and drop naturally and be collected later. Natural fruit drop usually last about 10 weeks and follows a specific pattern - a few during the first week, then peaking in the second and third week and decreasing again in the later weeks.
Manual harvesting of mature durian
1. Harvesting
- Harvest mature fruits at the correct harvesting indices or allow the fruits to drop naturally.
- Harvested fruit should not be placed on the ground to avoid contact with dirt and infection by pathogens.
- Keep records of harvest such as quantity and price.
- Identify good, fair and non-productive trees for further action.
Immediately after the harvest (the start of a new crop production cycle), the durian trees must be pruned and fertilized with equal proportions of NPK fertilizers to prepare the trees for healthy growth.
2. Pruning
- Trim all branches.
- Prune all branches affected by pests and diseases.
- Remove all dead and dry branches.
- Apply copper oxide fungicide as protective/preventive measure at pruned surfaces.
Pruning after the harvest season
3. Applying Fertilizers
Note: Fertilizer ratios and rates suggested in this section are general recommendations. Do not use these guidelines as absolute figures.
- After pruning, apply complete fertilizer with ratio 15:15:15; 16:16:16; or 20:20:20
- Fertilizer amount or rate (usually 2-3 kg/tree) depends on tree vigor.
- Incorporate fertilizers along the canopy drip line.
- Apply organic fertilizer at the rate of 10-20 kg/tree, according to tree size.
- Apply express or foliar fertilizer for incomplete fruit harvest.
- Check soil for phytophthera and termites.
Fertilizers placed in pockets around the tree
Fertilizers placed in a trench
along the drip-line
along the drip-line
4. Keeping the farm tidy
- Burn all dead and dry branches.
- Bury or burn all rotten fruits.
- Dig furrows if have drainage problems.
- Repair irrigation facilities.
- Remove excess weeds.
Express formula 1
- Glucose sugar - 600 g
- Humic acid - 20 cc
- Foliar spray 1:2:1 - 60 g
- Water - 20 litres
Express formula 2
- All ingredients are the same except
- Replace glucose sugar with maltonic sugar - 20 cc
Leaf Flushing - Leaf Growth Stage
Crop Production Cycle: Leaf Flush
If the development of new leaves is poor, or the previous harvest was a good one, increase the nitrogen in the fertilizer applied to the soil, as well as in the foliar sprays. Irrigating the trees frequently to support the development of new leaves is also important.
- Apply nitrogen fertilizers to stimulate leaf flushing.
- Use fertilizer with high N such as 15:0:0: or 46:0:0 at rate of 40-50g/20 litres water every 10 days.
- Apply supplementary plant food or express fertilizers to leaves to prepare the trees for flowering.
- Check soil and trees for phytophtera and termites.
- Apply water if weather is too dry.
Express formula 1
- Glucose sugar - 600 g
- Humic acid - 20 cc
- Foliar spray 1:2:1 - 60 g
- Water - 20 litres
Express formula 2
- All ingredients are the same as above as above except
- Replace glucose sugar with maltonic sugar - 20 cc
Durian Tree Preparation For Flowering Stage
At 2 months before flowering, fertilizers are applied with the aim of:
- helping existing leaves to mature;
- preventing the appearance of new leaves, thus avoiding competition for nutrients; and
- enhancing flower initiation.
Fertilizers at this stage should have high P and K content, and a low N. The proportion of N:P:K may be 1:3:2 or 1:3:3.
In addition to fertilizing the soil, a foliar fertilizer with no N, very high P and K content should be sprayed. Boron should also be applied. Besides using fertilizer, creating a long, dry period just after the completion of leaf development to limit vegetative growth of the tree, and then applying plenty of irrigation water, also helps to enhance flower initiation.
- Apply fertilizers to stimulate flowering.
- Use fertilizers with high P and K, ratios of 9:24:24; 8:24:24; or 12:12:17:2
- Rate at 2-5 kg/tree depending on tree vigour.
- Prune incomplete branches.
- Check and control branch weevils or stem weevils.
- Do manual weeding of excess weeds - do not use chemical weedicides.
Tree Recovery and Food Collection Stage
- Control water to the trees
- Check and control red-mites or weevil outbreaks
- If too many flowers on branches, cut off excess flowers at end of branches.
Crop Proction Cycle: Tree Preparation for Flowering to Flowering Stages
Crop production Cycle: Young flower buds
Flowering Initiation Stage
- Do flower thinning if too many flowers.
- Keep flowers of the same age, and cut off the rest.
- When flower buds are at fish-egg size, increase water supply.
- Reduce water when flowers open.
- If heavy winds, continue with watering, do not stop watering.
- Check and control red-mites, spray water to increase humidity to control red-mites
- Use chemical propagyte if heavy red-mite attack
Durian flowers and blooming
Fruitlets
Flowering - Young Fruit Stage
- Reduce watering to one-third of normal supply before flower opening 7 - 10 days.
- After that increase water to correlate with fruit growth.
- Do durian pollination.
- Check/control flower wilt or dry pollens.
- Record flowering opening date for estimate next harvesting.
- Thin young fruits at end of branches.
Crop Production Cycle: Flowering to Fruit Growth Stages
Fruit Growth Stage
Durian Fruitlets
To improve the size and general quality of the fruit, fertilizer should be applied to the soil as awell as in the form of a foliar spray. NPK fertilizer 1:1:1.5 should be applied to the soil. The foliar spray should have a high K content.
- Increase water 10% of normal water supply.
- Thin small fruits or irregular-shaped fruits.
- If strong winds or dry weather, increase water supply.
- Apply fertilizers to nourish fruits/leaves.
- Fertilizer ratio 12:12:17:2 or 4:16:24:4 at 2-3 kg/tree at 60 days after flowering open.
- Apply potassium sulphate 50% at rate 0.5 kg/tree at 30-45 days before fruit ripens.
- Apply express formula on incomplete leaves with glucose sugar, humic acid or foliar spray 1:2:1; or 15:30:15.
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