EFFECT OF IRRIGATION ON DRY MATTER OF DURIAN PULP CV. MONTHONG

Pulp dry matter is used as a maturity standard for durians in Thailand.
This study is concerned with the effect of irrigation on the pulp dry matter of durian.
Thirteen year old ‘Monthong’ durian plants, from two orchards in Chanthaburi province, were either irrigated with 200 liters of water every 2-3 d (normal practice), or 200 L everyday (heavy irrigation). If durian trees were heavily irrigated during their maturation period (one to three weeks prior to harvest), pulp dry matter was 1-3% lower, but not statistically significantly different from the normal practice.
If heavy irrigation was given during harvesting, there was no influence on fruit dry matter.
This suggests that heavy irrigation had a minor impact on durian dry matter.
Weather conditions recorded in the orchards, however, suggested that the micro-environment in the orchards have a greater effect on the accumulation of fruit dry matter than the level of irrigation.

XXVII International Horticultural Congress – IHC2006: International Symposium on The Role of Postharvest Technology in the Globalisation of Horticulture

S. Jerapat, J. Siriphanich

Durio zibethinus, maturation, quality, rainfall, water

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2008.768.31