National Durian Vol. 16

In recent years, much has been said about Smart Agriculture in Malaysia and now it has finally gained a momentum alongside the ideal return on investment for durians. “There is a very high value placed on durians. Thus, when the durian field seem to be facing various problems such as shortage of workers and drastic climate change, farmers would protect their durians at all costs,” said Wong Chin Sheng, who manages a huge durian orchard in Pagoh, Johor. Wong Chin Sheng’s durian orchard covers an area of 40 acres and is planted with many matured trees, most of which are of the Fu Ming 13 variety. It is difficult to manage durian orchards on a large-scale. So, he decided to install an Intelligent Agricultural Monitoring System in a newly developed…

The higher the EC value of the soil, the greater the concentration of soluble salt ions in the soil. It will damage the durian trees, reduce its yield or affect its quality. This is because high EC will cause the edges of the leave permanently damage. It can also lead to wilting leaves and even death to the durian trees. High EC also means that the durian root system will have reverse osmotic pressure. It will cause the water in the root system to be replaced and it will damage the root tips, thereby causing trees to lose its ability to absorb water and nutrients. “This is what we call the phenomenon of burning seedlings,” Wong Chin Sheng said. Many farmers do not understand that high EC has a profound…

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…

One of the ways to improve durian production is to continuously maintain the tidiness and cleanliness of the durian orchard. This is quite evident in Shawn Liau’s case. Shawn Liau’s has two durian orchards which are located in Pagoh and Bukit Naning, Johor. The durian trees in both his orchards are generally about 25 years old. When our team interviewed him at his orchard in Pagoh, we were surprised that he still maintained the orchard, especially focusing on manual weeding during the non-durian season. This was done so that the whole orchard looked neat and clean. “I use sod culture to manage durians especially during off – season,” he said. He uses sod culture to carry out maintenance work to durian trees after they are harvested to ensure that durian…

The Covid - 19 pandemic has affected everyone in one way or another. Ironically, it has also been a blessing in disguise for some. The agricultural field in all nations across the globe has been facing the problem of aging farmers with no one to take over their place. As a result, many agricultural families have no choice but to sell their farmland that has been cultivated for decades. Malaysia is no exception to this. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, most of the farmers interviewed by our team were over half a century old; some were even in their 70s and 80s but still working in the orchard. It was admirable to witness these independent farmers. However, the Movement Control Order (MCO) during the Covid - 19 pandemic has resulted in…

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…