Obviously this is the most fun part - not until you planted the saplings that you will get the satisfaction of observing your saplings grow strongly and vigorously
I've planted 45 durian tree sapling from Sept. 2018 until Nov. 2018. My saplings are sourced from nurseries in Muar, Kajang and Bidor. Ideally and if money is not an issue I would recommend that farmers and wannabe durian planters get the taller saplings - 4ft high and above which can cost anything from RM120 - RM150. Three reasons to get the taller/older saplings are:
- Better disease and pest resistant
- Faster to established
- Faster fruit bearing
The first 2 weeks are crucial for your saplings - observe for any water deficiency, evidence of immediate pest attacks and diseases
Planting Hole Preparations
Preparatory work is crucial for you saplings to get a jump start in life. Below are the steps and procedures that I applied for my sapling planting activity:
Digging planting hole --> Spread CIRP --> Position the root ball inside hole --> Spread 8-8-8-8 organic fert. --> Backfill the planting hole
I won't bore you to death with words, below are photos of my actual planting showing each step:
Planting hole is dug to a size of half-up bigger in diameter to the polybag size of the sapling and 200g of CIRP is put into the hole. Depth is approx. 2 inches deeper so I could put in some compost and organic rich soil into it.
I'm leaving the hole for 2 weeks for it to be exposed to sunlight and air prior to planting. This is a practice recommended by the Agriculture Department to rid the soil of diseases and soil-borne pathogens.
Durian Clone Types at My Farm
In Malaysia, most durian farms are mix clone farms with a few mono-crop farms. The assumption is that mix clone farms have better pollination and thus better harvest. I decided on planting mix clones because I prefer to have flexibility, in the sense that prices for different clones would fluctuate and having only Musang King clones may be a good decision now but nobody can predict future prices. This most famous clone may drop in prices in the future due to oversupply since everyone is planting it nowadays.
As of writing this blog, the durian with the highest price per kg is the D200 clone - also known as Duri Hitam or Ochee
My clone type distribution are as below:
- Musang King (D197) - 25 saplings
- IOI (D168) - 6 saplings
- Duri Hitam (D200) - 5 saplings
- Monthong - 2 saplings
- Kop Kecil (D99) - 2 saplings
- Native type - 1 sapling
I also inherited 10 adult native durian trees that was planted by my grandfather 25 years ago - if you asked, yes they still bear fruits yearly until this day.
For your viewing pleasure, below are the photos of the different clones that is planted in my farm.