But but but...my ducks lay less eggs on raining season
It's raining season now in sabah n the ducks lay 20% less eggs now, this is a problem for me cuz the demand for Salted eggs increase due to the guo zhong festival and soon to come puasa.

I cant cope with the demand

Good for you Ah Suknat, I can still remember at 1 time you were having problem marketing your eggs. Good work!.Congrates.

Ahaha yeah just do it things will come along

Ah_suknat:

I'm sorry to hear that man... but on the other hand, congratulations on your successful venture! Clearly you are doing well!

Here in Kuching, it is hot like hell. With the exception of some recent rainfall in the past couple of days, it has been blitzing hot.

As far as the research bit on drought tolerant crops goes, it seems to be more of a US thing... National Geographic recently published a story about this, and it seems that the US is facing a drawn-out drought problem. Although similar work is being carried out in other places, there is less commitment towards developing drought tolerant crops.

Instead, there is a growing interest in developing crops that are more efficient at utilizing water and fertilizer inputs. Interestingly, these traits are the ones that biotechnologist can't seem to engineer into plants.

Thanks for the concern, business has been extremely well as the coming of dragon boat festival, many chinese buy my salted eggs to make guo zhong, now I'm almost running out of stocks, plus the raining season my eggs production has been going down day by day, i am afraid I cant keep up the demand in the coming puasa month starting end of this month.

Puasa is the best time for Salted eggs apart from dragon boat and mooncake festival in malaysia since Muslim sahur with salted eggs to increase appetite

hello all sifu, need some advise here.
My family owns a piece of orchard that is currently planted with durian and some rambutan, langsat etc fruit trees. Supposedly the durians are matured enough for harvest but the price is not really good and quantity is not large enough to do anything large scale.
Hence the land has been left unattended for quite some time now (fruit trees are still there)

Since I've been working in KL and the land is up north, I was thinking to earn some side income by cultivating crops that doesn't require a lot of attention (especially dealing with disease because I don't have agricultural knowledge)

Any suggestion what crops I can inter-cultivate along side all existing fruit trees? The land is part hilly and part flat. There is a natural stream water that I can tap. Land size approximately 5 acre. Ideally only needs to visit like once a month or less

I was thinking papaya + chilly?

Pls suggest and advise...

thanks in advance.

2 articles that I would like to share.
Agro Project
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014...out-of-poverty/
El Nino
http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Nation/2014...er-in-the-next/

This post has been edited by MrFarmer: Jun 11 2014, 10:29 AM

5 acres north, I think should be sustainable. Any stay-in workers?

Crops that don't required attention are usually low value crops. Lemon Grass? If you want to do high value crops with less attention, then we are looking at high investment automated system. Chilly can be done in greenhouse, fertigation.....but then you'll need to shift your attention into marketing

Papaya, need lots of time managing, fertilizing, pest control & harvesting.

You are blessed with a 5 acres land, with a stream, part hilly & flat. Make the best of it. Since it's idle at the moment, I guess it's at minimal idling cost, why not spend some time, read up on agriculture, get more information. Then only decide if you want to develop the land.

With more inform, then you can make better decision on what to do with the land. Upgrade it? Re-plant? New crops? High density planting? High value crops?etc...Like you said you have Durian, but again you said your price not really good, did you find out why? Certain varieties in certain area command premium price. Method of marketing? Value added? etc. Just something for you to think about. Work in harmony with your blessed land and you shall reap everlasting rewards.

This post has been edited by MrFarmer: Jun 11 2014, 10:50 AM

Hi Farmer,

Thanks for replying.
The land still belongs to my father but it was left unattended for quite some years already.
All the fruit trees are still there but at the same time so are the wild grass/trees.
I guess durian doesn't work out because of few reasons
1) Half of the planted ones are not famous type (D24, Musang King etc) but they taste good though.
2) Comes durian season, everyone is selling at same time lead to glut. Unless the fruits were brought somewhere else...at least that's what my father said

Currently it incur no cost but no income too...

I'm thinking to clear some land from the wild (keeping the fruit trees) and plant it with something that is quick (6month - 1 year) to harvest, less attention needed (not much diseases, easy to attend, easy to survive etc), not necessary high value but should be enough to make some profit, and not much facility investment needed because I'm fairly new with this whole farming thing hence don't want to invest too much on facility until i get a hold of it.
So greenhouse thingy no go for me cause I think the investment will be quite substantial.
Please don't scold me if this sounds like I'm hoping for trees that grow money....lol!

I'll be willing to spend money to hire kampung folk to help do the ground work which will eat into my profit.
But I guess getting something is better than getting nothing, right.

Any suggestion where I can get more information? Been looking at the malaysia agri website but it's quite confusing....

Thanks!

guys wanna ask here, how do I buy frozen stuff from china?

hi masters

i am 28yo this year accountant by training, currently working in Singapore. I have resigned from my job and i would like to go to raub where i have purchased a 4ac land in raub. currently the land is all old rubber trees which i am going to chop down and plant durian trees as the land is 80% hilly and it is quite accessible with normal car (abt 5 min drive from nearest tar road)

as durian takes a long time to grow and harvest what crop can i grow to generate some income while waiting for harvest from durian trees?

my biz partner would like to rear marble goby & fresh water prawn. for this purpose is it true that one plot of farm land is allowed to build only 1 structure (ie. building)? we are thinking to build a small farm house and fish rearing facility(separate building).

For your existing Durian trees, maybe you do an assessment to see if the roots are strong, if they are you can do Top-working, that is replace the top with high value Durian varieties. It's like replace the top, just google it.
Yes, marketing is part of farming, you need to market your produce. You may want to contact sellers especially those in the capital, Kuala Lumpur and also sellers from other states. Your dad is right, hence sell your produce at those state that is not in season.

Maybe you can consider Lemon Grass. While I was in Rawang, I saw this guy going around asking people to plant Lemon Grass. Spoke with him for a while, you can either contract farm, or he send people to farm at your land. Just need to check if there is any Lemon grass processing company around your area.

Do pay a visit to DOA when you have the time, speak with the officers, they are very helpful. You can also find our current programs being offered. Some comes with subsidies.

Good Luck.

You may contact the locals, they actually pays you to clear your land, as they can sell the rubber wood.

Search for cash crop or medium term crops.

I don't think they really enforce so strictly in Agriculture land on agriculture structure, unless you are building houses (residential) in the land.

Dear everyone

I have a piece of land measuring 4 acres located at Sungai Lui, Raub.
Anyone interested to work on it.

I am planning to rent it out for RM 400.0 per monthly for a long long period.


Thank you
Ng (017.389 3196)

Good day all!

It's been a very tiring one month since I last posted, but I'm glad that the thread is still very active. Thank you very much, Mr. Farmer for keeping the thread alive!

Anyway, how's everyone doing? The heatwave in past month is really crazy isn't it? Hope all is well. For one, mango farmers may experience a massive crop later this year (if it starts raining in July/August), especially Chuk-Anan varieties. Mango trees need a distinct dryspell before they will flower anyway.

Now, down to business.

Krayzie:

There is a saying in the agriculture world: "A farm's best fertilizer, is the owner's footprints". I think that should be sufficient to sum up what is expected of prospective agriculturist.

As for "die-hard" type of crops, sadly nearly all annuals do not fall into that category. That's why they are "annual crops"; they are meant to have very short, delicate lifespans. Perennials like tree crops, oil palm etc. tend to be more robust, but the turnaround is much longer lar.

But if you are still adamant to grow something short term with good turn around, then try banana. And go for cooking varieties, like nangka or tanduk, since they are less disease prone compared to dessert varieties such as berangan, mas or rastali. They have a slightly longer harvest time, up to around 18 months.

However, I need to tell you this: even the most robust crops are not safe from nature. It is not just diseases, or lack or rainfall, or overgrowth of weeds that could impact your crops. Pest, including the two-legged variants, can also ruin your plans. More so since your orchard is literally unguarded.

What you want to achieve with your 5-acre orchard is possible only if you have trustworthy people to work the land. In other words, contract out the farming part, split the profits 50-50. That may be a more feasible approach than simply planting out some crop and hoping for the best.

Before I move on, there are a few things you will need to concern yourself with before taking the next step:

(i) You have an orchard. The trees, I imagine, are quite big. So the orchard is going to be quite shaded. Fruiting crops need a whole lot of intense sunlight, at least the equivalent of 5 hours of sunlight at the full intensity of a 9.30am morning condition under open sky. Does your orchard have cleared areas with this kind of condition?

(ii) Part of the orchard is hilly, meaning that shallow rooted crops will need a lot of irrigation. Thus, you will need at least manual irrigation, if not a water pump irrigation system. Even then, will the pump pressure be enough to irrigate the high reaches? Find out first. The flat parts may be suitable for growing, but will it be flooded during rainy season? More so since a stream cuts through the place. Do not underestimate the carrying capacity of even small streams... I've seen how much water they can carry, and how quickly a low lying land will be inundated after a downpour (talk to Para about this, he knows what I mean).

That is for starters. If I were to give my full honest opinion, I would say that you might be better off getting someone to properly manage the orchard for you. In the long run, the pay-off will be far superior. And as Mr. Farmer has rightly pointed out, if you are interested with keeping the orchard and making it profitable, look into how to improve the existing durian trees on site. There is this master in Penang that professionally grafts Musang King durians on old durian orchards, but he is quite hard to track down since his expertise is in high demand. Then of course, there is Para's sifu, but you will need to talk to him about that.


ah_suknat:

Mmm... could try Alibaba.com for a start. They are specialist listing site for products from China.


Cereal1:

Not too sure about the structure thing, but in some states, it seems that there are some requirements. Please clarify with the local authorities. For instance in Sarawak, if you open an aquaculture or fish farm site, you need to comply with minimum housing and sanitation requirements, i.e. must have wastewater treatment, toilet of certain dimension and plumbing, must have housing for workers that stay on site (with specific quality and dimensions) etc. Same goes for plantations with on site workforce, although to qualify as a "plantation", it must be at least 20ha size.

Although it is true that local enforcement is often lax, it would be good to try and comply for the most part. If at least got 50% comply, still got chance to nego for leniency if authorities really go after you lar. Oh, and remember to get an EIA report if you are doing aquaculture permanently. A lot of people forget to get that or include it in their plans (fish waste is considered a serious environmental pollutant).

As for short term crops, again, I will go with bananas. This is because bananas are always in demand, just the pricing and variety to grow needs to be determined. As above, I would recommend the cooking varieties, such as nangka or tanduk, since even if you can't sell it directly, you can value add it by starting a cottage industry of making kerepek. Also, they are more disease resistant compared to the dessert varieties.

But if you have adequate manpower, and capital to spare, other short term crops such as chilli would do. Strong cultivars with near perennial production, such as cili padi, kerinting etc. may be a good option. Annuals like kulai and its various hybrids would also be good options.

Here, I would like to point out that the key to success in agriculture, apart from knowledge, hands-on practice and marketing, is timing. Get your production right, so that your produce comes to market when it is normally off-season. Then you will fetch better prices. Otherwise, could end up like Cameron Highland tomatoes... one kg RM0.50 only.



Final note: There are no shortcut-quick returns in agriculture, unless one wants to end up like China, where hundreds of thousands of prime agriculture land have turned into wasteland by "shortcut" intensive farming techniques. Remember, agriculture has and always will be a down-to-earth type of venture. If you can't stand under the hot sun, then stay out of the fields.

On a separate note:

The citrus plants I've been experimenting with are proving to be really fascinating. I've planted three varieties: (i) Calamansi (limau kasturi), (ii) Satsuma orange (mikan), and (iii) Key Lime.

I then exposed them to numerous stresses, including drought, predation, competition with other crops etc., and interestingly, the satsuma orange is doing extremely well. For one, none of the caterpillars even tried eating the leaves, whereas the key limes were almost completely wiped out. Also, the satsumas are growing much faster than both the key limes and calamasi; even in the drought test, where I cut watering down to just 1L every few weeks, the satsumas seem to be growing faster anyhow.


Right now, my interest has turned to mangoes. Partly because I've come across possibly one of the best tasting mangoes I've ever tasted. But also because mangoes originate from Southeast Asia and the Indo-China region. So since it is from here, why aren't we planting more?

Interesting enough, I found out why.

There are actually two families of mangoes, which are not only separated by place of origin, but also by distinct physiological characteristics. One is the Indian mango, which are typically ovoid shaped with blushes of red/pink on its skin; the other, is the Southeast Asian mango, which are oblong shaped with either yellow or green skin. Also, Indian mangoes are monoembryonic, i.e. when the seed germinate, only one shoot comes up; whereas Southeast Asian mangoes are polyembryonic, i.e. they produce multiple shoots at first, but eventually only 1-2 shoots survive to form the tree.

Indian mangoes do not like humidity. In fact, nearly all bloodlines with Indian mango ancestry will blight during the rainy season. Southeast Asian mangoes however have been adapted to wet conditions, and hence are more tolerant of diseases. However, 80% of all mangoes produced world are Indian mangoes, produced in cooler tropical climates away from the equator. Also, Indian mangoes have the largest number of variants and hybrids; there are literally 1,000 registered cultivars and counting. Compared to Southeast Asian mangoes, there are probably just a couple dozen or so registered varieties at present.

So why is this important? Because it means that Southeast Asian mangoes have a tremendous amount of potential yet to be unlocked. With the kooky way climate shift is taking place, it will be necessary to find cultivars that can tolerate high heat, high humidity conditions. And seeing how the mango industry is worth about USD$300 billion globally, why is Malaysia missing out? We're not even in the Top 10 producers!

So why not? Hmm... as I've discovered, it is because we are still using very archaic methods of cultivation. We still grow 200 trees per hectare, some even only 100 trees per hectare or even less. But in South Africa, they are growing 1500 trees per hectare. That's right... 1500 trees per hectare. Same with India.

It is often cited that diseases are a key reason why we can't plant high density mangoes. But if the growing areas with higher rainfall than Malaysia can do it, what then is stopping us from following suit?

The Satsuma orange sounds interesting. Wonder how's the fruit taste like (sweet) compared to the Chinese Mandarin Orange (Lou Kam). Shall chec with my nursery supplier, maybe get a a few for trial as I had not been doing well on my trial of Limau Kipas & Perut. My problem with lime is that it died of drought when it's new, but once established, it should be well. Next problem is pest. Leaf miners & weevils & fruit flies. Had a tree infested with the black fungus. I read the Satsuma is drought tolerant but easily died on over watering.

Co-incidentally I had started on some mangoes recently. Had a Super Manila Sweet & Apple mangoes on my trial and it had fruited. Made some grafts and recently planted a few. Just got in some ChokAnan ( they are naming this Langkawi Mangoes :-) ), Thong Dam aka Black Gold, Nam Doc Mai aka Water Lily, Madu.

Would like to get my hands on Harumanis & R2E2

What do you think of these varieties on doing in Sabah? Interior, hill, rain fed.

Mr Farmer:

The Satsumas, if allowed to dry out sufficiently prior to harvesting, are very sweet and nearly seedless. Most will have about 1 seed per fruit, some will have 2-3 seeds. If the land is sandy, or has good drainage, then Satsumas should do quite well. They are cold hardy, but love the warmth (i.e. will keep flowering and fruiting if it is warm), and have a droopy growing habit (low hanging fruits). Train well, and it will bear massive amounts of fruit.



As for mangoes, the Manila and Apple are supposed to be among the best bearers regionally, as in they have a consistent production each year. Especially Apple mangoes, which fruit all year round, even when other mangoes cultivars are not in season. Taste wise, Manila tends to have a sour undertone compared to Apple even when ripe, but because Apple mangoes have thin skin, they will not store well. Usually they have to be consumed within 3-4 days after plucking, so Apple mangoes will be more suitable for local market. In addition, you must harvest Apple mangoes at a precise ripeness standard, otherwise it will be very sour. If harvested ripe, it will be very sweet.

Thai mangoes, like Chok Anan, Thong Dam, Nam Doc Mai etc. are also heavy bearers, but require a very distinct dry season in order to flower, followed by a moderate rainfall season while in fruit. Heavy rainfalls are bad, because the fruitlets can fall, or the resulting fruits will become insipid (bland tasting). In fact, the fruits taste best when there is an approaching dry season just before harvest. Since flowers are produced on new branch ends, it is important to time the pruning of old branches with the local weather pattern in order to maximize fruit production and quality. Some, like the Chok Anan, can be trained to bear two times are year, or more. Among mangoes, Thai mango trees are the most trainable and adaptable.

Harumanis is primarily a northern variety, although it was first developed in Selangor. Very fragrant, but taste wise still missing a beat. Some people say there is a mild turpentine taste to it, don't know lar. But it is in high demand, and it does fetch really high farmgate prices.

R2E2 is Australian, mostly grown in Queensland. I'm less familiar with this variety compared to its parent, but from what I've read about it, the fruits are bloody huge (nearly 1kg each), and high demand for export market. Thick skinned, stores extremely well. It is also supposed to be quite disease resistant, especially since its original parent is Kensington Pride. However, there are some reports indicating that it is a biennial bearer, i.e. one year high production, next year low. Nonetheless, this is among the fastest bearing mango variety available, even more so than Thai mangoes. Under ideal conditions, it is not surprising to see grafted R2E2 seedlings bearing fruits within the first year of planting.

Right now, there are a lot of nurserymen grafting and selling this variety in Malaysia. I guess there is a real push to grow R2E2.

Taste wise... well it depends on the consumer's taste buds really. I personally do not like mangoes of the Indian origin (i.e. those that are round, blush pink on shoulder, inherently large, and mostly produced in temperate countries), as I find the taste rather flat and insipid. I prefer the more complex flavors of Southeast Asian origins, especially Khiaw Savoy and Nam Doc Mai (i.e. those that are pronouncedly elongated, normally plain yellow or green, and produced in tropical monsoon countries). Some, like the Manila, even have surprising "spicy" notes.



Now for your planting area, which is hilly and interior, I'm afraid there is more to it when it comes to mangoes. Most varieties of Southeast Asian origins are highly adaptable, as long as the soil isn't heavy clay. Soil pH should be acidic, but within the range of 6-7; slightly alkaline soils can also be cultivated, if treated with humus and appropriate soil conditioners. Look at the areas in Malaysia with large mango cultivation; Sitiawan in Perak, most parts of Malacca, etc. These are areas with sandy loam soils, even sandy soils. I've even came across a farmer in Sitiawan that cultivated mangoes on ex-tin mining land; his mango trees are not only highly productive, but his mangoes are rated among the best in Malaysia.

Hilly areas not exceeding a few hundred feet above sea level should be fine, but flat land would be more practical especially when it comes to harvesting. Make sure the drainage is good, because even for Southeast Asian origin mangoes, they will need to experience a distinct dry spell/water stress in order to initiate flowering. But more importantly, the drought condition will cause biochemical changes in the trees which are necessary to ensure that fruitlets that form do not fall off later on. Do note that only 1% of mango flowers become fruitlets, and of these, between 10%-35% actually end up as marketable fruit.

Remember that a mango tree has to work hard and struggle a bit in order to bear good fruits; a pampered, lazy mango tree will either produce lousy fruits, or no fruits at all.

Very nice sharing Michael J

Spoke with FAMA (local), they are collecting only ChokAnan & Harumanis (only).

You are right on the Apple Mango, we tasted it ripe on tree as it was trial, it was very sweet, but skin being too thin. Might not be practical to send it to the Market.

The Manila, again ripe on tree is big & very sweet, but with a citrus / tangerine flavor ( that make us salivate).

R2E2 are selling at a very high price at the moment in the nursery, I may have to wait till the price drops lower. It's suppose to have a very good shelve life, very high in demand.

I think Mangoes are highly adaptive. Hope they shall do well in the hills.