Signs of great durian harvest in Penang

All set for a fruitful season: Soong showing his second batch of durian flowers in Sungai Ara, Penang. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The nets have already been placed under the durian trees, set to collect the fruits that should fall in a couple of weeks.

Everything is in place, just waiting for the first batch of Balik Pulau durians to drop and kick-start the mad rush for the King of Fruits.

Durian farmer Tan Chee Keat, 33, said the season should start at the end of this month.

“We look forward to collecting the fruits by the end of this month, which initially will be in small quantities.

“By mid-May, the season will be in full swing,” he said yesterday.

Balik Pulau boasts of many durian orchards and this is where the best fruit can be found in Penang, including popular varieties like Black Thorn, Musang King, and Ang Heh (Red Prawn).

The soil conditions and geographical factors at Balik Pulau, which is located along hillslopes, ensure that the fruits have a stronger aroma and taste better than durian elsewhere in the country.

Tan said he hopes it is going to be a good harvest as the durian trees had produced significantly more flowers than usual.

“Normally by this time, the trees would have ceased flowering. However, I noticed that many trees are still in the flowering stage.

“The flowers are nearly double the usual this time, so I expect a bountiful harvest this year.

“For the same reason, I expect the season to last longer than normal, right until September,” he added.

For now, Tan said workers at his farm in Relau are applying fertiliser ahead of the harvesting.

“The trees still require necessary nutrients at this stage.

“The hot weather poses a challenge. We are using mobile pumps to draw water from nearby tanks to irrigate the trees,” he said.

Tan has about 13,000 durian trees in his orchard in Relau, where he sells his fruit under the Durian Kaki label.

Meanwhile, Stone House plantation owner Tan Hock Hoe, 46, raised concerns over the hot spell, which could affect the fruiting process.

“Yes, there are more flowers this year due to the hot spell, but I’m worried the fruits would not get enough water because of the hot weather.

“Even some fruits that have yet to ripen, with the size of an apple, are dropping due to a lack of water. This could affect the overall quality of the fruits and harvest,” he said.

Another orchard owner in Sungai Ara, Kenny Soong, 48, also said that the first stage of flowering had wilted due to the weather.

“The extreme hot spell affected the flowers from the first batch. Now, we hope the second batch of the flowers will develop well.

“This may slightly delay the durian season, but overall, I think it’s going to be a good harvest. The durian season could last until August,” he said.

Soong explained that if the weather was too hot or too cold, it will affect the growth of durian fruits.

“If the weather is too dry or too wet, the fruits won’t develop properly.

“We hope that the rain will be consistent, but not too much,” he said.