production technology of durian

1. PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY OF DURIAN
Scientific name: Durio zibethinus
Family : Bombacaceae
Description
Durian is a medium to large buttressed tree. Bark dark red brown, peeling off
irregularly. Leaves are elliptic or lanceolate-elliptic, papery; upper surface glossy,
lower surface densely covered with silvery scales; petioles are angular. Flowers are
in fascicles of corymbose inflorescences. Calyx saccate, flattened at the base, with
tube. Petals white or creamy, spatulate. Stamen white, each filament with up to 12
reniform anthers dehiscing by a slit. Ovary is ovoid, slender style, yellow stigma.
Fruit varies greatly in size, green to yellowish brown with spines that are variable
in length and shape. Yellowish, sweet flesh with strong odor. Seeds are chestnut
brown, completely enclosed in a thick, white or yellow, soft, sweet, fragrant aril.
Composition
As per 100 g of fruit, energy- 615 kJ (147 kcal), carbohydrates- 27.09 g, dietary
fiber- 3.8 g, fat- 5.33 g, protein- 1.47 g, water- 65g
Pre- dominant flavor compounds in durian fruit pulp are hydrogen sluphide,
ethyl hydrosulphide and several dialkyl polysulphides. Ethyl acetate, 1,1-
diethoxythane and ethyl 2- methylnutanoate contribute to an additional fruity
odour. Main components are oleic and palmitic/ archidic acid together with
appreciable quantities of palmitoletic, stearic, linoleic and linolenic acids.
Vitamins Minerals
Vitamin A- 44 IU
Thiamine B1- 0.374 mg
Riboflavin B2- 0.2 mg
Niacin B3- 1.074 mg
Pantothenic acid B5- 0.23 mg
Vitamin B6- 0.316 mg
Folate B9-36 μg
Vitamin C- 19.7 mg
Calcium- 6 mg
Iron- 0.43 mg
Magnesium- 30 mg
Manganese- 0.325 mg
Phosphorus- 39 mg
Potassium- 436 mg
Sodium- 2 mg
Zinc- 0.28 mg

2. Uses
Durian is used in sweet and savory dishes; both the creamy flesh and seeds are
edible; the flavor is described as tasting like cheese, almonds, garlic and caramel,
all at once. Durian helps to reduce constipation, bloating, cholesterol and risk of
infertility in men and women; strengthens cardiovascular and bone health;
improves immunity and sleeping quality; prevents cancer, osteoporosis, insomnia
and anemia. The rind contains antibacterial and anti-yeast properties. Leaves used
for curing jaundice. Roots are boiled and the decoction used to relieve fever.
Ground shells are eaten to ease heartburn.
Origin and distribution
Durian is indigenous to the Malayan and Indian archipelago in South Asia,
distributed in Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo, and a few other Southeast Asian
countries. Malayan word duri meaning thorn; Italian word zibetto meaning strong
smelling. In India, durian fruits do grow throughout the backwaters of Kerala, the
occasional backyard in Coorg, and along the coastlines of Maharashtra and
Karnataka.
Species
The species that produce edible fruit are,
Durio zibethinus - common durian
Durio kutejensis - lai
Durio oxleyanus - keratogan
Durio graveolens - tabelk
Durio dulcis - lahong
Durio grandiflorus – munjit
Varieties
Cultivars grown in Thailand are,
Chanee
One of the best cultivars. Fruit weighs 2-4 kg. mature fruit is greenish brown and
the flesh is golden yellow in colour.

3. Deception
It looks from the outside as if it contains large quantities of edible inside, but in
reality it is not. The quality of the fruit is good.
Frog
Its name due to the dark yellow flesh resembling that of a freshly skinned frog. It is
also of good quality.
Gahn- Yao
Large fruited. Shape is globular and weighs 2-5 kg. the mature fruit is greenish
brown in colour, with cream yellow flesh inside. Tastes sweet, firm and mellow.
Gibbon
Brownish shell that resembles the colour of tht animal’s fur. It is good quality
cultivar.
Golden pillow
The best and the most expensive cutliver. The pulp is sweetest of all the cultivars;
the tees produce less number of fruits.
Gra- Doom- Tawng
It is a rather small- fruited cultivar but of fine quality. The fruits are globular in
shape and weigh 1.5- 3 kg, rind of mature fruit is greenish brown with intense
yellow flesh, mellow, firm and sweet.
Long Stem
Presence of long stem, and the fruits are of good quality.
Mawn- Tawng
Large elongated fruit weighing 2- 5 kg. The mature fruit is golden yellow- brown,
pulp creamy yellow in colour and sweet.
Transvestite
Two fruits often appear on the same stem and the seeds are hard to germinate. It
is one of the excellent cultivars with excellent flavor.
Soil and climatic requirements
Durian tree can grow in various kinds of soils from sandy to clay loam. But
fertile, deep silt or clay loam with good drainage and rich in organic matter is most
suitable. The soil should have a high sulphur content but without any salt. It grows
best in loamy soil with pH 5.0- 6.5. it grows best with an average temperature of
240
C- 300
C and a well distributed rainfall of 1600- 4000 mm. They are unable to

4. withstand drought and also very sensitive to cold injury. Lack of soil moisture and
salinity may lead to flower and fruit drop.
Propagation
Mostly propagated through seeds of trees bearing superior quality fruit.
Germination takes place 3 days after sowing in garden soil. Seed viability can
prolonged upto 32 days if the seeds are surface sterilized and kept in airtight
container at 200
C. the seedlings should be protected from strong sunlight.
Vegetatively propagated by air- layering, budding, cutting, or by grafting.
Commercially inarching or patch budding on its own rootstock as well on seedling
of Cullenia excelsa.
Land preparation
Large and fairly flat land uses big machinery to quickly clear big trees and thick
undergrowth. Small farms and hilly land usually rely on chain saws, axes and
slashing knives to clear the unwanted vegetation. Tree trunks or stumps are
generally left to rot but if they are diseased or termites-infested, appropriate
action must be taken to prevent its spread. Growing of cover crops prevents soil
erosion, to improve or maintain the soil structure and fertility especially soil
nitrogen. Leguminous plants are usually used as they are easy to establish. They
are seldom used as green manure but as living mulch. Cover crops are usually
seeded just after land clearing and at the on-set of the rainy season. They grow
rapidly and cover the entire area of the farm within two years.
Planting
In August- September planting is done with spacing of 10 x 10m or 12x 12 m.
More than one clone or cultivar should be planted for cross pollination.
Nutrients
20: 5: 10 kg NPK/ ha can be applied during third year. 38.3: 8.2: 20.9 NPK kg/ha
applied for bearing tree. Beyond 7 years only very little quantity can be applied.

5. Pruning
Pyramidal shape of pruning recommended. After harvest the tree can be
cleared off dried and old twigs.
Water and weed management
Water is very critical during planting in the field as young durian trees are very
susceptible to drought and mortality can be as high as 50%. Insufficient water can
also weaken the plants and predisposes them to pests and diseases. A period of 3
to 4 weeks dry weather is needed to stimulate flowering. Water is important to
promote growth and development of the flower buds, blooming, fruit set, fruit
growth and maturity. Legume cover crops to suppress other noxious weeds, to
prevent rapid loss of water from the soil through evaporation, and to keep the soil
temperature down during hot weather.
Flowering, pollination and fruit set
Durian flowers are cauliflorous in group of 3- 20 arising from older branches. It
is perfect and regular; self- incompatible. Flowers are visited by bats which eat the
pollen and pollinate the flowers. The flowers open in the afternoon and shed
pollen in the evening. By the following morning, the calyx, petals, and stamens
have fallen off to leave only the gynoecium of the flower. Manually assisted cross
pollination results in fruit set of 31% compared with <10% obtained by selfing. Self
pollination results in greater fruit abortion and misshaped fruits with lower
number of arils and seeds, which are usually shrunken.
Low fruit set is a major problem in producing durian, especially in Chanee
cultivar as it shows a high degree of incompatability. 90% of young fruits abscissed
and fell within 0- 2 weeks after fruit setting. Flower thinning increased fresh
weight but had no effect on fruit retention and quality.
Use of plant growth regulators
Spraying of paclobutrazol at 750- 1500 ppm on pruned trees resultes in 14- 45
days early flowering with 29- 49% increased number of flowers. Gibberellins paste
applied on fruits 6 weeks after anthesis, preventes fruit drop, enhances fruit
development and increased fruit size and weight by 20- 30%.

6. Pests
Hawk moth ( Daphnusa ocellaris)
The larvae feed on the leaves and complete defoliation occurs. Use of light traps
was found effective to control this pest. Dieldrin at 0.3- 0.5% also used to control
this pest.
Durian psyllids ( Allocaridara malayensis)
Nymphs and adults suck saps from leaves and cause defoliation. Newly emerged
leaves are most susceptible to attack. Regular spraying of fenthion, dimethoate or
carbaryl at 10- 15 days interval after flushing effectively control the infestation.
Mealy bug ( Pseudococcus sp.)
It sucks saps from twigs, inflorescenes, young as well as from mature fruit. The
damaged parts become stunted and the infected fruits are not accepted in the
market. Spraying fruits with white oil and banding the branch of tree with
petroleum oil to keep off the ants are reported to be effective.
Physiological disorders
Uneven fruit ripening
UFR is characterized by a hardened leathery aril, and a whitish color, odorless
and tasteless pulp. It normally occurs when the fruits are about to ripen and
remains invisible until the fruits are opened.
Wet core
Water core makes the core at the centre of the fruit and the flesh of the fruit
very moist and soft. Main cause is heavy rain just before harvesting. Other factors
include a high water table during harvesting and low potassium in the soil. This
disease occurs more often with young bearing trees.
Tip burn
It occurs when the tips of durian flesh turn dark brown. It usually occurs when
there is rapid growth of the flesh, insufficient nutrients supplied, or insufficient
water during the flesh formation. It usually occurs in young bearing trees, large
fruits which are early maturing, and unhealthy trees.

7. Maturity indices and harvest
Harvesting done when the fruits are smooth, flat with far- apart spines. Fruits
that drops naturally are believed to have better flavour and taste compared to
those that are plucked from the tree and ripened. However, harvesting normally
done by climbing the tree and after cutting the fruit with knife, the fruits are
lowered with a rope.
Yield
Seedling tree usually takes a long time to bear fruits while budded tree starts
bearing fruits 4- 5 years after plantation. Fruiting available 2 times/ year. Mature
tree bears 100 fruits and the ripening period is between May and September. In
general, a tree of 8- 12 years in age produced 150- 300 fruits/ year each weighing
0.5- 1.5 kg.
Storage
Durian is a climacteric fruit. Ripe fruits could be stored for 6- 8 weeks at 4- 60
C
and 85- 90% RH. Higher temperature (150
C) recommended for storage of unripe
fruits which can show chilling injury if stored below 120
C. Ripening inhibited in
fruits stored in O2 at 5- 7.5%. Coating with sucrose ester delay ripening for 1- 3
days at 250
C.
References
 Fruits: Tropical and Subtropical, volume 2/ 2002/ K. T. Bose, S. K. Mitra, D.
Sanyal/ New Sarada Press, Calcutta.
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durian
 http://durianinfo.blogspot.in