Yeap... As far as i observe, shroom wasnt really a popular popular food in mly.. Mainly for export only.. So i was wondering do i need to back it up by growing crops like chilli or etc etc to get the cash coming in first for current sustainability?

What would you guys do/plant as your first venture to agri?

Para:

Durian seed need to sow soon after taking it out from the fruit, i.e. within a few hours. If you can't sow it so soon, then wash it clean, keep it in a container with some water, and keep it in a dark damp place. I keep durian seeds I want to germinate in my bathroom. You may keep it is the fridge, provided it is not too cold.

To germinate, I prefer starting them in a shallow dish of water in a dark place (i.e. my bathroom). Once the roots peep out about 2-3 cm, then I will sow them in bags of damp soil. These I will keep in a shaded area in my garden, and make sure to dampen the bags every other day if it isn't too hot. When initially growing, they can drink a lot of water.

Bro, the Eksotika, like all hybrid materials, will not grow true-to-type lar.... Meaning, the plant are a mixture of different varieties, so the genetics is mixed up. If you take the seeds from this mixed-up variety and plant, then you will get mixed up seedlings as well. Some may turn out better, but most will be perform worse.

It is a different story if you don't mind chapalang kind of plants. Actually, it is a good thing if you look at it differently; at least from whatever that grows, you can choose which one you like the most, pollinate those, and save those seeds. Then the few next cycles, you would probably get more uniform type of plant lor. Just make sure the seeds you save from hybrids are not Plant Variety Protected (PVP) seeds; otherwise, if the seed company finds out, they can sue you kow kow (eg. like what Monsanto has been doing to INDIVIDUAL FARMERS).

Mr Farmer:

Hmmm...... Sorry I can't see the pictures from here. But based on your description, it sounds to be due to sun scalding, followed by infection by phytophtora fungus. Tell me, do you water early in the evenings, about 4-5pm? Or earlier, shortly after mid-day?

Although literature on sun scalding will show it to be something more of a problem in temperate regions, the fact is sun scalding happens to plants wherever there are drastic shifts in temperature. In the tropics, what happens is that in the daytime, temperatures are excessively high, followed by sharp drops in temperature during evenings or night time. In Malaysia, the normal daytime temperature is anywhere between 28C to 33C or maybe 1-2 degrees higher; night temperatures in most cases are also still quite high, around 26C-28C in the lowlands, which is about 2-5 degrees shifts. This isn't a very drastic change, and plant cells can adapt quite well to this, usually through the uptake of water and other metabolites.

However, problem comes when temperatures soar till around 35C, and then plummet to 26C. The nearly 10C change in temperature will shock the plant, causing the cells to keep "drinking" water without restraint, leading to "bursting" barks and splitting along the trunk. The same condition can occur even under normal temperature ranges, whereby cool water is applied to plants on a hot day, leading to sharp shifts in soil and bark temperatures, thereby stimulating the plant to go into thermal regulation mode. That's why most growers and gardeners will tell you, "Don't water plants during the afternoon sun!". They don't normally explain why, but this is part of the reasoning.

Now once a wound is created, it will allow easy access to plant pathogens and other nasty stuff. Disease causing fungi like phytophtora are commonly present in tropical soil, especially those with very high amount of woody/organic matter. Not all species of phytophtora are habitual plant-killers, but when given the chance, they can kill.

It is hard to determine the severity of the infection at this stage (as I can't view the photos). But if the bark area has some black or dark appearance, the chances are the disease is already in an advance stage, and saving the plant would be difficult. If it isn't a rare or expensive plant, you might want to consider getting replacements.

Mr Farmer:

I've finally managed to have a good long look at the photos you've posted here.

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Added on June 26, 2012, 6:53 pmBut I have to ask you a question: Do you have squirrel problems as well?

This is a general statement, aimed at most of us:
Do know your land before committing to any agri venture. Just because your neighbours are planting or growing something, it does not mean your land is well suited for it. One should aim to cultivate whatever that is most suited to the land and excel in it, rather than cultivate what seems like the biggest money-maker but fare moderately (or poorly) in its cultivation.

Eg: Musang King may earn you RM20-RM30 per kg, but if your tree only yield 20 fruits a year, how much better would that be compared to cultivating a D101 which brings on RM9 per kg, but 100 fruit per year?

Mr Farmer:

Thank you. You are very right about knowing one's capabilities. Agriculture is a very engaging affair, and your crops are very finicky "lovers", so to speak; show them a little less attention and care, and there's a high chance of them running out on you.
One thing I've learnt from small-holdings elsewhere (not Malaysia), is the importance of adding value. Sometimes even small added value could make a whole difference towards the final sell. What I mean by value adding are things as seemingly insignificant as bunching your produce together, or pre-packaging them, to more elaborate methods such as cooking them up into ready-to eat meal to take home from the Pasar Tani.

And seriously, the value the small holder can gain is quite stark. Eg., a sweet potato farmer regularly harvests rogue leaves and stems and sells them for RM1 per fistfull bunch. He often sells up to RM200 of the leaves and stems at the weekly farmer's market. If he had sold by weight, he would probably get about 3/4 only. Similarly, his wife grills up fresh sweet potatoes, and sells them about RM2.50 - RM3.00 each (around 400g-500g weight). That's about double the average retail value for fresh tubers.

Obviously, a small holder would not be able to value add everything he/she has cultivated and sell them like the above. But if you can target to have about 30% or maybe 50% of your crop value added, you would be doing pretty well; i.e. sell all your grade A/B produce at the best prices, value add your slightly lower grade produce and sell it for immediate consumption. Now don't go all "aiyoh, sell low grade stuff to people.."; low grade in this instance does not mean spoilt produce, but rather good quality, yet not meeting the size/weight mark, eg. grade C tilapia weight around 400g = still tasty, but fetches very low prices.

A guy with 0% knowledge in agriculture here! My friend have two parcel of 5 acre land in Seremban. We are planning to venture into agriculture but don't know how and what to do about it. It was his family land anyway. 5 years was given for trials.

Mr Farmer:

As always (sigh) I can't view pictures from my present location. But if it is those chickens with long neck, short combs, and stilt-like legs, then you have fighter breeds. The males are particularly vicious, and may even attack people. Females are less vicious, but still very aggressive.

Actually, if you do have a large enough population of chooks, you could selectively breed the good ones. "Good" in this instance does not just mean weight or egg-laying abilities, but also character. A gentle, docile, submissive and calm character is almost always at the top of of my animal breeding programs. Even roosters that hadn't been castrated were developed to be non-aggressive.

If you are intent on breeding chooks, and don't want to get pecked and scratched whenever you enter your farm, you could try Holland/Rhode Island Red. Males are a lot less aggressive, more submissive, but not necessarily more docile. Holland/Rhode Island Red females are extremely good egg layers (1 egg/bird each day), and very fecund. The females may be squabblish, but having a rooster present would help minimise such incidences. They love human presence, and if particularly fond of a person, will follow him/her everywhere. They grow a lot more slowly, takes about 2.5-3 months to reach full maturity and weight (~1.5-2kg), and have glorious, flavoursome reddish-yellow meat when cooked.

Free-ranging them would help develop the meat flavor more, but as they are a more active bird, the meat can become a little too firm for most people accustomed to factory-farmed chicken. They love soft grass and leafy vegetables)!), and will go after slugs and bugs with passion. The females will need a regular supply of calcium once they start egg laying. In the marketplace, this breed often fetches about RM15/kg or more when free ranged, and old hens also fetch good prices once they've stop laying eggs.

Ideally, you should have 1 male to every 8 females, but for a group of 50, you may only need 5 mature males to stimulate egg-laying; at most, 50% of the group should be males, otherwise fights could become serious. Or you could castrate the non-breeding males to produce capons.

Hi MJ,

Thank you. I will try it out this weekend. I will share the picture once I have done.

My parents were good at grafting durian, jackfruit, and rubber tree. Too bad that i never really have chance to learn from them, i was too young that time to see them doing these thing.

Hey People...

MAHA 2012 is Officially ON ...

23 November - 2 December 2012....

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.

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?