How to Grow a Durian Tree? How Many Years Until It Bears Fruit

General News Jan 1, 1970By Sophie Bennett 0 views

Everyone eats durian often, but very few people have probably ever seen a durian tree. In China, it is only rarely grown in Guangdong and Hainan. Many friends who live in the interior and have never traveled to Southeast Asia probably do not even know what a durian tree looks like, let alone questions like how to grow a durian tree or how many years it takes to bear fruit; they would be completely confused. So next, China Agricultural News Network will clear up your doubts:

What Does a Durian Tree Look Like?

The durian tree is an evergreen arbor, and its trunk can generally reach a height of about 25 m, making it the tallest fruit tree in tropical regions. The leaves are oblong or obovate-oblong, shortly acuminate, with a rounded base, glossy on both sides, and appressed scales on the underside. There are 10-12 pairs of lateral veins, the leaves are 10-15 cm long and 3-5 cm wide, and the petiole of the durian tree is 1.5-2.8 cm long. The cymes are slender and drooping, clustered on the stem or large branches, with 3-30 flowers per cyme, and the flowering period is from June to December each year. Friends who have never seen a durian tree can look at the picture below: heavy durians hanging just like that from the branches. A single tree can produce around 80 durians each year, and after durians are picked from the tree, they can ripen in ten days.

Pictured: durian tree

Durian Tree Seedling Prices

Are durian tree seedlings expensive? Friends who want to try growing durian trees certainly want to know. Durian tree seedlings are not commonly seen in flower and tree markets. Through statistics on quotations from durian tree seedling suppliers on online sales platforms, the editor has gained a rough understanding of durian tree seedling prices. You can use this as a reference. For yellow-flesh one-year seedlings, the average price is 5.56 yuan per plant; for yellow-flesh two-year seedlings, 8.5 to 8.8 yuan per plant, with a promotional price of 7.5 yuan per plant; for 4-year seedlings, 13.5 yuan per plant.

How Many Years Until a Durian Tree Bears Fruit

According to statistics, there are two hundred durian varieties, and currently sixty to eighty are commonly grown. As for how many years until a durian tree bears fruit: light varieties include Yiluan, Jiaoluntong, Chunfushi, Jinzhen, and Chani, which bear fruit after four or five years; medium varieties include Changbing and Gu, which bear fruit after six to eight years. Heavy varieties include Ganbang and Yina, which bear fruit after eight years. They bear fruit once a year, with maturity times differing by one or two months.

How to Grow a Durian Tree?

Durian trees are mainly grown in Southeast Asian countries. China has done relatively little research on durian tree cultivation. At present, there is scattered cultivation in Hainan, with large trees at the Xinglong Farm in the southeastern part of Hainan Province and the Baoting Tropical Crops Research Institute in the south, which can flower and bear fruit in some years. The growing conditions for durian are relatively demanding, and it can only grow smoothly in tropical regions. According to the phenological characteristics of durian, it can be grown in areas with an average daily temperature above 22°C and no frost, and parts of Hainan Province and Yunnan Province in China can develop it. This is because durian needs a year-round high-temperature climate to grow and bear fruit. Even in equatorial regions, in areas with an altitude above six hundred meters, the drop in temperature can also cause durian not to bear fruit. So then, how can a durian tree be grown well?

Every year in October and November is the best period for planting durian, with a relatively high survival rate. If planted at this time and given a period to recover, it can bear fruit normally the following spring. Many people may mistakenly think that planting in spring is better, but that is not the case. If planted in spring, after two months of recovering before bearing fruit, it misses the best time to go on the market. This is about choosing the planting time. For how to grow durian, there are also the following points to note:

1. For sowing, a plant and row spacing of 20cm*20cm is suitable. During the seedling growth period, attention should be paid to weeding and fertilizing. Excellent durian mother trees can be propagated by air layering, which roots easily; from girdling to becoming a seedling generally takes only 2 months.

2. When durian seedlings grow to 30 to 40cm, they can be planted out, with a plant and row spacing of 3m*5m being suitable, and organic fertilizer, farmyard manure, and an appropriate amount of lime applied as base fertilizer. They can be planted throughout the year, and planting with soil is best.

3. Fertilization management for durian seedlings: fruit trees should be given one key fertilization each year, namely spring bud-promoting fertilizer, summer fruit-swelling fertilizer, and pre-harvest fertilizer, with particular emphasis on applying the fruit-swelling fertilizer well. After harvest, apply one deep application of organic fertilizer.

4. Pay attention to shaping and pruning: durian trees have relatively strong sprouting ability, so during one to two years of planting, attention should be paid to shaping. Pruning can be done after harvest, and a good tree shape is more conducive to durian fruiting.

How to Grow a Durian Tree? How Many Years Until It Bears Fruit

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