The Black Thorn durian is gaining momentum over Musang King

At the recent World Durian Championship 2022: Malaysia Edition, Black Thorn triumphed over Musang King. — DR ABDUL AZIZ ZAKARIA

A few weeks ago, something momentous happened at the World Durian Championship 2022: Malaysia Edition at the Bangi Golf Resort Durian Festival & Awards. After a panel of judges spent hours tasting all the durians at the competition, there was a final round of judging to determine the king of kings – basically the durian to trump all durians.

While the Musang King varietal seemed like a sure-fire winner, it was the cult favourite Black Thorn variant that took home the crown, sealing victory for 62-year-old Penang farmer Leow Cheok Kiang, who has spent decades cultivating and growing Black Thorn and is actually the person responsible for registering the Black Thorn clone in Malaysia.