Anyone got caught on the Fig trend? Buah Tin.

I just ordered beeswax from china, i search around and they said beeswax is edible and can be be use to spray on fruits, well, will jist have to wait and see

Hi all.

How's the group been doing so far? I know Para and Mr. Farmer have been really busy, so have I. Anybody wanna update a little?

On my part, I am still involved with research, primarily dealing with plant diseases. A lot of P&C stuff, so can't reveal much.

Anyway, talking about gaharu... UNIMAS has come up with a method of producing the essential oil without needing to plant the trees. Apparently, the method does work, but needs some fine tuning. Also, it still remains to be seen if it can be scaled up to large production quantities (the likes of a Carlsberg fermentary). Nonetheless, if the tech proves worthy, there may be less needs for inoculated tree plantations.

On a separate note, I've been noticing a massive drop in key lime production, coupled with a 100% surge in prices. It used to cost about RM4/kg, but now it is about RM9/kg in most places. Anybody growing key limes?

Hi Michael,
Nice to see you. This tread is a bit slow lately :-)
With rubber prices so low, have no choice but to look into fruit trees.
Concentrating on my trials on Avocado, Jackfruits & Soursop.
Have 4 trees of Lime, 3 key lime & 1 Limau Purut, more on experimenting, don't really know how to care for them. Started these so that can use it for propagating if/when required.

Started trial for Fig.
Collecting data, started mini trial and looking into a Fig orchard. What do you guys think?

Maybe looking at Dragon Fruit?

Opinion please.

Anybody knows date for MAHA this year? Need to plan my schedule....

MAHA is 20 Nov to 30 Nov 2014

http://www.maha.gov.my/index.php/en/



sorry guys but what is Key Lime ??

This post has been edited by ParaOpticaL: Apr 29 2014, 05:28 PM

Key Lime = Limau Nipis mamak store type
Kaffir Lime = Limau Purut have 1 fruiting.

Yes, can make it 28th till 30 Nov, got 3 days. Yes!

Hi all,

Para + Mr. Farmer:

Key lime is not actually limau nipis, although grouped together as such. What we often refer to as limau nipis a.k.a. mamak lime is actually calamondin/calamansi, which is not a lime, but a sour orange.

Key lime is a type of lime with sweeter flesh, primarily found in the Caribbean, Florida Keys, Mexico, and parts of India. It is also a lot more larger than calamansi, i.e. Key limes produce fruits about 5cm diameters, whereas calamansi are usually about 2-3cm diameter only. In addition, a fully ripe calamansi fruit can be eaten whole, peel and all; whereas a Key lime peel will be highly bitter and almost inedible.

There are also some distinctions in the flower and color. Calamansi produces mostly small white/cream coloured flowers; Key limes however produce large white flowers that have a yellowish center.

Then there are the seeds. Calamansi seeds are almost always greenish colored, bulky, and tear-drop shaped. Key lime seeds tend to take on a beige color, are flat, and tapered at the ends.

Mr Farmer:

About figs, they are one of the most productive tree species I've ever known. Although they can take some time to reach maturity, the yield does make it an acceptable long term crop. Kinda like olive trees... you plant them now not for this generation, but for the next.

As for dragon fruit... this one I have mixed feelings. I'm not so sure how popular they are now, but the plantations in Sepang have been quite stagnant. I used to see them sell fresh fruits along the tourist routes, but now most of them don't do it anymore. Instead, it seems that they are more interested at selling dragon fruit wine or vinegar. Maybe because after selling off their top-crop, they find more value from turning their lesser crops into these kind of products?

If you do plant them though, make sure it is the red variety. Also, be vigilant against pests, especially moths. The other headache is bacterial rot, which is a big problem in areas with high rainfall. Sepang is a sunny, dry and windy place, with acid/peat soil; so the dragon fruit cactus does quite ok under such conditions. The other places I've been, eg. Teluk Intan, some parts of Perak etc. with higher rainfalls and humidity levels... really a sad sight. Entire acres devastated by moths, bacterial rots etc...



On a different topic about livestock... I would like to ask the group's opinion about an often neglected poultry species:

Pigeon.

Yes, I know... it might sound disgusting, but seriously I'm not talking about those vagrant type of pigeons. I'm referring to Rock Pigeon bred for meat production.

Here are some merits of pigeon meat: it is low in fat, high in nutrients as what would be expected from dark red meats like beef or mutton, and rich in taste.

As for pigeon being a livestock, it is even more fascinating. Pigeons are known to mate for life, and each pair produces continuous litters every year. This means that when the hatchlings of a previous brood is just about ready to leave the nest, a mated pair will often be expecting a new batch of hatchlings to hatch. In addition, there is no need to feed the younglings, as the parents are the ones who do the feeding, so just feed the parents, and they will take care of the rest.

In Europe, especially places like France, pigeon rearing for food is very commonplace, and nearly every household in the countryside has a pigeon house. In Asian cuisine, pigeon does feature quite often on menus, notably Hong Kong delicacy or medicinal foods. It isn't cheap either, with a single bird going for RM15-17 or so. Weight for weight, pigeons are priced a lot more higher than chicken, with a fraction of feed cost.

What are your thoughts?

Have you all read this news:

www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014/05/01/Farmers-dumping-tomatoes-Many-forced-to-throw-away-produce-because-of-oversupply/

Apparently, the prices of tomatoes has dropped to 20-30 sen per kg lei.... and farmers are dumping their crops because they don't want to bear the transport cost. Opportunity for someone enterprising?

If not because of the amount of pesticides they spray onto it, I would have take it to feed my ducks.

But no, try to wash it and many white bubbles comes off

Fig product fruits from cuttings quite fast. As fast as 8 months, as reported by some planters. Doing a trial.

Dragon fruit, I read the Yellow skin / white flesh is the sweetest and fetch the highest price. Seen some orchard in Sabah, which don't look well. Still contemplating.

Pigeon, looked into it 3 years ago, but have a personal problem, can't bear to cook them.

kruuu kruuu kruuuu

ak_suknat:

I think that's the Thiram fungicide they coat the fruits with. Helps prevent post-harvest rotting.



Mr. Farmer:

Which cultivar of fig? If it is the Asian ones, then I'd be cautious... some variants do fruit early and produce multiple crops a year, but not all produce "edible" fruits. Non-edible fruits are hermaphrodites a.k.a. caprifigs, and contain seeds.

As for dragon fruits... It might be a preference issue, I guess. But the majority of fruits on the international market seem to be the red variant, or at least hybrid of red and white. Yellow variants (skin and flesh) are much less common, and yes, they do taste a lot sweeter. And because of their rarity, they do command hefty prices. Something like GBp1-2 each in the UK? That's about RM10 each in local currency.



About pigeons... I guess there's some squeamishness involved with slaughtering and dressing them. Pigeons tend to be "cute", like rabbits. Haa..... I take a personal view that they aren't much different from other poultry such as chicken or ducks.

Am looking at the Fircus Carica, edible / common fig. Got some from Turkey, don't know what varieties. Turkish fig most probably need caprification with a special wasp, which we don't have. Brought in some self fruiting, no need capricfication and am still bringing in more varieties for trial. The trend locally is at an infancy stage, about 2 ~3 years, unlike Indonesia & Thailand which started earlier and more mature. Locally it's still a hobbyist plant, hence asking arms & legs just for a cutting / plant. China is also going into it in a mega scale, got news of a 1,000 hectare Fig farm.

Still going through tons of reading material. Maybe you can comment more?

yes all animals are cute. Have some Village Chicken, which I am keeping my distance so that I'm not attached to them. May look into Bees when I have more time / when I finish planting. Just harvest honey, without slaughtering therm

Mr Farmer:

Asian stingless bees? There's a group on Facebook, I think, that are promoting this species.

With regards to figs. About 18 years back, I got to know some local growers who were cultivating figs in Sarawak. But back then I was only a kid, so I didn't put much interest into it. But I do remember dried compressed figs being sold commonly when I was in Kuching. My dad was visiting one of his company's distributors at the time. Heard that the trend eventually died out due to low demand soon after. One of the fig vendors happened to be a friend of my dad's distributor.


Mmm.... it might just be me, but whenever I hear somewhere somewhere got some kind of mega agriculture program, I get the shivers. To me, that's bad news, not good news.

Reference is made to that tomato article I've posted a while back. When everyone bandwagons onto something, it eventually loses value. Just like golden arowana business... last time one highback can sell for RM1,000+; now can't find anyone want to buy for RM250 or less. Heck, even the original Malayan Gold with bluebase scales that were once selling a few thousand ringgit, now you can get one for just a couple hundred bucks!

Anyway, that is just my thoughts. Be the Warren Buffett of agribusiness; when everybody is planting one thing, you plant something different. When everybody is buying, you start selling.

How about pigeon satay? Are they delicious?

ak_suknat:

Pigeon meat has little fat, so it will need to have to be oiled or cooked together with something that can help retain moisture to keep the meat succulent. Maybe pandan leaf wrapped pigeon parcels would be better.

I did come across a few episode from Escape to River Cottage, by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall that featured pigeons.

In one, he help his neighbour cull excess ornamental white pigeons, and used the meat and meat extracts to make Pastilla, a North Africa pastry dish featuring scrambled eggs, caster sugar, almonds, cinnamon, and of course, pigeon meat.

In the other, when the accounts of his small farming enterprise was nearly depleted, he turned to hunting wild wood pigeons to raise funds. He sold Pigeon Pitta Pockets with Peas Pudding, which were essentially pan grilled marinated pigeon breast meat stuffed into pita bread halves with creamy peas mash toppings. Surprisingly, he did very well selling them at the horse racing course.

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014...s-fruit-frenzy/


Published: Sunday May 11, 2014 MYT 12:00:00 AM
Updated: Sunday May 11, 2014 MYT 7:05:04 AM
Exotic mango harvest causes fruit frenzy


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KANGAR: It is harvest season for the harumanis mango, and visitors are coming in droves to Perlis.

Fans of the fruit have waxed lyrical about its exotic taste and due to limited production, it is not uncommon to see people lining up to buy it.

The mango is only grown in the state and is only in season from mid-April to early June.

The price of harumanis can go up to RM35 per kilo, but this has not stopped people from buying boxes of the succulent, tropical fruit.

In fact, some even “book” the fruit online before it is even harvested.

During its season, the harumanis is not only enjoyed as it is, but is also eaten with glutinous rice or juiced.

Harumanis is high in antioxidants such as Vitamins C and E in addition to water-soluble fibres. It can also lower cholesterol levels and reduce phlegm.

During the season, the harumanis can be found in Bukit Bintang, Paya Kelubi and Chuping.

Growers cannot meet the extraordinarily high demand for harumanis because annual production is only around a few hundred tonnes.

As with the previous harumanis seasons, many were forced to leave empty-handed due to the limited production.

Even the fruits on the trees have been pre-booked online.

Traders opened up booking as early as March 1.

Those who booked early would be able to get the first harvest in April, deemed the best but also the most expensive.

An online trader has set the price at RM100 for four kilos of harumanis, for delivery in the peninsula.

The delivery charge is set at RM38. The four kilos is only enough for three people.

To serve more than 20 people, the trader suggested purchasing 30 kilos of harumanis at RM750. Factor in the delivery rate of RM158, and one would be spending RM908 to serve mango for around 20 people.

The price of RM25 per kilo is expected to last only until May 15.

Perlis Mentri Besar Azlan Man believes that this year’s harumanis production will be more than last year’s due to the dry weather during the blooming period, a condition considered optimal for good mango production.

The state government is always working towards improving production of the highly sought after harumanis, and has entrusted Universiti Malaysia Perlis (UniMAP) to conduct research on it.

UniMAP has been successful in coming up with harumanis trees that produce fruits all year round. — Bernama

Ah yes... harumanis. Seriously fragrant variety, if I'm not mistaken it is a natural hybrid of the kuini and Indian mango.

Anyway, how's everyone? I guess we're all really busy, I know I've been backed up with work.

Lately I've been experimenting with drought tolerance. It's not something new in academia, but it has been a neglected area for some time now. Recently got word that the US is pushing heavily into research of drought tolerant crop varieties, as apparently their climate modelling is indicating some rather disturbing shifts in rainfall patterns. If I understood it correctly, they believe that there will be less rainfall occurring on land in the immediate future, and that this pattern may last maybe 30-40 years. So overall, we will be faced with a drier climate and potential famine conditions due to failure in crop production.

What do are your thoughts about this? Should the agriculture community take stock of this potential catastrophe, and be prepared for whatever eventuality? And what would you, as people on the ground, think could be possible solutions?