Innholdsfortegnelse for Vol. 16 i National Durian

Humankind has come a long way, and it was almost a ‘miracle’ that we managed to pull through potential extinction and become the dominant mammalian species on Planet Earth. Just before 12,000 years ago, for two million years, humans were still hunter-gatherers, living a nomadic lifestyle, hunting and fishing animals as well as foraging for wild vegetation for food. Prior to the emergence of the hunter-gatherer cultures, their predecessors scavenged on animal remains left behind by predators. Beginning about 12,000 years ago during what is known as the Neolithic Revolution or the First Agricultural Revolution, humans started to relinquish the hunter-gatherer cultures for agriculture to support permanent settlement. The transition from the hunter-gathering practices to agriculture enable the populations to grow from less than 100 people to larger numbers. The…

STRONG TEKKA TREES Lim Seng Hock grows Musang King (D197), Black Thorn (D200), 101, Tekka and a few other durian varieties. He particularly pointed out that there are advantages in cultivating Tekka. He believes that it is convenient to take care of Tekka and the trees are generally strong. “In the past, this young plant was often overlooked and managed at will. One of the Tekka tree had a broken trunk. I just tied it up with a plastic rope to prevent it from breaking. Unexpectedly, it survived to this day,” Lim Seng Hock said while pointing to that particular tree. In fact, Tekka, one of the most famous durian varieties in Malaysia, was once known as Musang Queen as it was said to be on a par with the…

In recent years due to the growth of durian market, durian planting area has been increasing continuously in the past five years in order to meet market demand, and the trend has not slowed down. This situation is not only happening in Malaysia, but also in Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. With the increasing yield of durian comes the surge of durian waste, such as the durian husks. Durian is valuable in its entirety. The pulp not only can be eaten fresh, it can also be made into puree or processed into more valuable commodities such as dehydrated durian snacks, desserts, cakes, beverages and the of late widely popular durian-flavored moon cakes. As for the value of waste, it is said that durian seed…

WAYS TO IMPROVE ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY (EC) As for the control of soil EC, whether it is too high or too low, can be improved by working on the orchard. First of all, reasonable fertilisation avoids re-accumulation of soil salt and accelerates the level of soil EC. In addition, water with low EC value can be used to irrigate the soil to reduce soil salt concentration. Since salt moves with water, when soil is warm, water evaporates upwards. As a result, salt will accumulate on the surface of the soil. Thus, as long as the surface of the soil is cleared away, most of the salt can be removed from the soil. This method is more thorough and requires heavy workload. In China, farmers usually practice flood irrigation method. They fill…

TAKING OVER THE PLACE OF FOREIGN WORKERS Ironically, this is the best time to invest in agriculture. As mentioned above, although the MCO caused by the Covid - 19 pandemic has had a positive impact on agriculture, it also has its disadvantages. It has led to a serious shortage of foreign workers. Currently, the agriculture field in Malaysia is generally facing the problem of insufficient labour. However, young people such as Celine Saw who returned to work in farming during the MCO have unexpectedly filled in the vacancies of these foreign workers. “Many young people were jobless when they return to their hometowns and they end up joining like-minded friends who have returned to their hometowns to work in the agricultural field. Moreover, there is limited job opportunities in their…