Wah so many post, was away just for a week. Taking friends on a tour of Sabah, including my farm of course

Just to share, we can keep the scion/bud/shoot fresh by keeping them in a cooler box/ fridge or insulated Styrofoam box with ice.

Even seeds can be kept fresh by keeping them in the fridge. Those seeds (durians) that I kept, while in KL, I clean and washed them, then wrapped with newspaper, double heat sealed plastic bag (don't want the smell to come out, otherwise can't board the plane). Some of them had germinated.

Seedling price is so much higher here.
Pandan Coconut @ $15 each from Pertanian
D197 @ $28 independent Nursery
Lime (Limau kapas) @ $18 independent Nursery

Mr Farmer:

Whoa... That's quite a steep pricing.

About plant propagation, you are quite right that they can be kept fresh through temperature and humidity control. However, one has to bear in mind that any extension in storage will still negatively affect germination/success rate.

For the best results, it is still best to propagate recalcitrant seeds within 1-2 days, and grafts/budwood within 1-2 hours (max). In fact, if you could do the grafts within 5-10 minutes when the natural plant fluids and enzymes of the graft have not yet oxidize, that would be even better.

Anyway, a short update on my durian seeds. All of them are now about 1.5 feet tall. I had originally wanted to plant out another 60 seeds from various other "less desirable" varieties, but decided to only keep only a fraction for experimentation purposes. These have only just begun root extension, but should do quite well in time.

Separately, another interesting durian orchard in Penang. It looks really posh: http://www.durian.com.my/index.html

MrFarmer,

That is expensive in Sabah. I think you can grove and sell tree there.

MJ.

Thank you for the information. Will try to get the coconut from Mardi first.

eat rabbit.. :sweat

what is usually served is hare instead of rabbit in western countries, right? btw, wanna tumpang thread...hehe..is turkey difficult to rear and takes a long time to mature period?

chinyen:

It depends. If it is hunted and taken from the wild, they are usually hares; if they are bred for meat, those are rabbits. Hares have not been domesticated by man. So those found in restaurants are usually rabbits, not hare.

Turkey is similar as chicken or guinea fowl in rearing. They do need large areas to move about, and they love to graze. Breeding them, however, is quite a challenge for a smallholder, unless you've managed to get heritage strains, and not the industrial varieties. Heritage turkeys take about 28-30 weeks to reach maturity, while industrial varieties normally take about 14-18 weeks before slaughter.

Say what size of poly bag are you using for the Durian? I think my bags are too small initially as when the seed germinate and wants to flip up, it got stuck to the side. Transplanted some to bigger bags.

Mr Farmer:

You managed to germinate the Musang King? If so, congrats!

You don't really need a large polybag. I use one with a diameter of about 8.5cm only. You do need to be a little careful when planting the seeds initially though, as durian seeds germinate in a peculiar manner, i.e. it is rooting part will angle itself accutely irregardless how you plant it. The best way is to plant is flat of the soil surface, and let the roots find its own direction down. Or plant the germinating seed three-quarter-ways into the soil, with the root side just peeking out.

Now if after emerging from the soil, the seed gets caught by the side of the bag, don't worry. The seed is not as important as most people think; it only provides initial food for germinate and growth. The more important part in the growing shoot tip, which is "sandwiched" in the center of the seed. Normally, the shoot tip will extricate itself from the seed and be stand-alone quite soon. If not, you could help it along by washing away some of the soil so that the shoot is exposed to light; the shoot will autocorrect itself using light stimulation. This is the part you have to make sure it doesn't get jammed; if it does, it might die, and this could terminate growth of your durian seedling, provided you have clones/ materials that produce multiple shoots. I had one seedling whose cotyledon was so heavy it snaped the shoot off; fortunately it was a multi-shoot variant, so the side shoots grew to replace that main shoot.

Also note that durian seedlings, like some of its other cousins, cannot produce new growth below a certain notch (which is the point at which the seed/cotyledon is attached to the plant). If you accidentally cut/damage the plant below this point, it will never grow back. Anywhere above this notch, the plant could still regenerate new branches/growth points.

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Added on August 7, 2012, 4:53 pmSorry, I should also clarify further:

Although you don't need a wide polybag, you will need a deep one. Durian seedling roots are very fast growing and deep, so anything less than 30cm deep is too shallow.

Alternatively, you could initiate germination in smaller polybags about 20cm deep and 8.5cm wide, then transplant them into large polybags (30cm wide by 45cm deep) for growth till 4th month stage. This kind of "two-stage nursery" method is good if you are targeting uniformity; you can select the seedlings which are about the same growth rate in the smaller polybag stage, and transplant them to the larger polybags. In theory, this would ensure that every batch of seedlings you produce will be more or less equal in growth and size.

This post has been edited by Michael J.: Aug 7 2012, 04:53 PM

Thank you. Yes managed to germinate just a few. I think 5 grew out of maybe 40 seeds (5 fruits). I used your suggestion of putting the seeds into a pail with water, line with old news papers. After a few days, it start to germinate. Surprisingly the first thing that grew out is the cotyledon (not the root). I transplanted all seeds (including the non germinated) into small poly bags, maybe 5 X 8 ". My mistake is that I though the cotyledon is the root, and planted it pointing downward. 2nd mistake is that I think I planted those seeds too deep, maybe 2~3" (was thinking that the roots shall hold better and deeper for easier handling when doing grafting. When I check back in a couple of days, the cotyledon was caught at the side of the poly bag, due to turning and the bag being too small diameter. Some died. Other seeds rotted due to air deprivation (I think, due to too deep).
Note my previous pic, on the left, there is a pic of the damaged cotyledon, which I guess may not survive. Am doing your suggestion of tow stage, transplanted some to bigger poly bags maybe 12X20". Hopefully it's large enough.
Guess I won't be grafting any durian yet as I don't have any scion source. Maybe just transplant it to the field in a couple of months (erh how long?).

wanna ask how good is it to rear duck for salted egg?? my mom just started to rear it and say ts much easier to rear compare to chicken(easy die) and fish(slow grow up), I wanna invest in it but dunno much if its really profitable.

how much to rear to start can see any profit?

Mr Farmer:

Super! As I am still unable to view pictures from certain sources where I am (sigh), I will need to get back to you about the cotyledon germinating before root growth. Normally, some expansion of the seed coat will take place, and moderate expansion of the cotyledon is to be expected.

Seed rot will take place if the seeds are dead. Usually, undamaged and healthy seeds would be able to twart most diseases, except maybe phytophtora and fusarium rot lar. Two-three inches deep is too deep for most seeds.... a 1 inch depth is more than sufficient actually. Don't worry about sturdiness; durian tap roots are very agressive in the early stages.

As for field planting, this depends on your planning part. If you're going to do grafting, it would be best to wait till the seedlings are at least 4 months old, do the graft, and keep for another 4 months before planting out. For such instances, you will need a large polybag to keep the seedlings prior to field planting.


optimus_shine:

Hmm... this is a trickier question to answer.

(1) If you get the right breed and the right market, it can be phenomenally good. I've kept Muscovy (large white duck) and Khaki Campbells (small brown duck) before, and both have their pros and cons.

(2) Your mom is right. Most duck breeds have not been inbred very much, so they do not have deleterious (diseased) genes retained in them. Also, ducks are naturally resistant to most common poultry diseases, again due to better genetics compared to chickens. As for growth rate, that is contentious; good tilapia breeds which are properly fed can reach 800g weights in 3-4 months, while ducks take similar durations as well.

Some information on ducks:

Muscovies bear very large, white eggs which are really value for money; and they are quite good layers, but don't expect more than 150 eggs a year.

Khaki Campbells are the most consistent egg laying duck breed, averaging 300 eggs a year. The eggs are medium to small, bluish tinged, and have a rather fishy smell (when raw).

Both produce very good salted eggs, just that for commercial scale, the Khaki Campbells are the more sought after breed due to the quantity produced, and the fact that it's a small bird (so can keep more per area space). Price-wise, the Muscovy salted eggs can fetch up to RM1 each; the Khaki Campbell salted eggs average at RM0.30-0.40 each.

Read this link for some comparison between ducks and chickens:
http://kit94.tripod.com/eDvsC.html


Although I applaud your sense of entrepreneurship, I would like to caution against seeking for profits at the onset of your project. I mean, if you already have some hands-on experiences, then fine enough; but I'm guessing this is not the case.

For a good experience, try keeping 30 ducks in a 1000 square feet space, free range style. Do note that unlike chickens that need only about a few square feet space to remain happy layers, ducks won't lay eggs if they feel cooped up.

You will need to sex the ducks (through) venting so you get mostly females. Some people might contend this, but I find having 1 male to every 5 females help maintain the egg laying condition of the females.

To make sure you can find the eggs, prepare suitable nesting spots for the females before hand. Do remember that ducks like privacy when nesting, so each nest has to be significantly distant from the other. For Muscovies, I used a disused dog kennel kept about 1 foot above the soil, and a lined basket as a nest; for Khaki Campbells, they prefer nesting on the ground, so a shaded, slightly padded area would appeal to them.

Hi People,

August Edition of the :-

Agriculture & Aquaculture Newsletter

is out

http://www.mediafire.com/?3zyvhsdwvklnmz4

wow thanks for the thorough and detail reply, very informative!

my mom will be the one who do the rearing as she stays in the farm, this is her first time rearing duck tho, I will post some pictures of the farm soon, does weather change their breeding/laying behavior as the location of the farm is slightly on higher altitude, its warm during the day but quite cold during the night.

i dont know what breed is the duck but she said is itik thailand

my mom has no knowledge in all this, is there a must know or do in rearing duck? atleast for basic.

thank you very much again!!

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Added on August 12, 2012, 6:01 pmby the way, I found an extremely useful books to study on rearing ducks and its free

http://journeytoforever.org/farm_library/AD33.pdf

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Added on August 12, 2012, 6:01 pmjust ask my mom and it tursn out its khaki campbell breed

This post has been edited by optimus_shine: Aug 12 2012, 06:01 PM

optimus_shine:

You've basically answered your own questions. Good effort!

Yes, Journey to Forever has a good collection of books, and well worth reading. I believe that you should find what you need to know in that book.

But I will add on a little: You really need to know your breed of ducks. Different breeds will have different behaviours and needs. For example, Indian Runners (Indonesian duck) don't nest and love to run around in open spaces, so you will need to literally search for their eggs since they will lay eggs anywhere on the ground. Muscovy ducklings tend to be cannabalistic, so you need to separate the smaller ducklings from the larger ones, and always ensure they are feed enough food. Hybrid ducks, like the Mulard are less flighty, calmers, and faster growers (thus heavy eaters) than most other duck breeds.

All ducks, however, require access to clean water for swimming and bathing to remain healthy. This is particularly true for breeds like the Pekin; breeds like Indian Runners prefer to graze in open spaces.

Anyway, the crux of the matter is that you need to know your ducks, their behaviours, likes/don't likes etc. This all would help in managing them, and most importantly prventing diseases and other avoidable problems. As cliche as it may sound, prevention is still better than cure.

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Added on August 13, 2012, 9:45 amIf you're located up north, this might be interesting for you:

http://www.mudah.my/Anak+itik+telur-17099367.htm

This post has been edited by Michael J.: Aug 13 2012, 09:45 AM

Hello Sifu,

Mind I ask is there any crop that provide good returns within 1 - 2 years? like 1 kg of that particular crop which enable me to sell it for around few thousand ringgit?

Oh Yes, of course there is. You may want to try opium

lol!

try saffron, its the most expensive herbs in the world!

optimus_shine:

Erm.... sorry if this sounds cynical. Just because it is the most expensive herb/crop/fish/cow/donkey, it doesn't mean it will grow well here.



The crocus flower (Crocus sativa) is a Mediterranean climate crop, meaning it grows well only with lots of sunlight (14 hours daylight), and mild weather (26C average temperature, 70% humidity). Malaysia has an average of 16 hours of daylight, averages 28-30C temperatures, and a humidity of around 70%-80%. Those parameters may look close enough to a Mediterranean climate, except that to a plant, it is a whole world apart.

Furthermore, you need to plant about 150,000 bulbs to get just 1kg of saffron. The heavy price tag on saffron is not solely due to overwhelming demand; it is also due to the very low yields gained for an immense amount of effort given to its cultivation.


insearching:

I'm going to repeat what I keep telling people who visit this thread: There are no short cuts in agriculture. Anyone who is trying to look for quick money in life should look elsewhere instead.

Now to seriously answer your question about a very short term crop with extremely high returns - Legally, no; Illegally, many.



Mr Farmer:
Malaysia has classified medicinal marijuana and poppy cultivation as illegal activities too, so no chance of growing them legally here either.

Hi all, just dropping by to say "Hi" and kudos to TS and regular contributors for sharing immense priceless knowledge and experience here.

There's so much more for me to learn about agriculture practises & economics involved in our beloved country (and it's people), and having the chance to come across with such community (in this forum) is a huge eye-opener.

So, all the best to everyone, and looking forward to someday meet-up & just 'hang-out' with you(s).

Since most of the guys here are polite...so let me be the BAD GUY.

Sorry bro...if there was such a thing You Would NEVER be the first one to had done it so please be realistic.

Agriculture & Aquaculture is NEVER A GET RICH QUICK area.

It takes months and years of hardwork + sweat to be close to successful or profitable

I bought 1 bags 20kg of manure fertilizer from Sg Buloh recently and it cost me about Rm50.

Is there any shop around Puchong that sell fertilizer? I am looking for 1-2 bags for my fruits tree. Any cheap multipurpose fertilizer will do. My coconut tree feel like not healthy and want to die.