In Vietnam's Quang Tri, durian trial bears sweet fruit on coffee soil

Several households in Huong Phung and Vinh Hoang Communes began testing popular durian varieties including Vietnamese Ri 6, Thailand’s Monthong, and Malaysia’s Musang King several years ago.

Some of the orchards have now entered the harvest stage, with the trees showing good growth and the fruit receiving positive feedback from consumers.

In Huong Phung Commune, Nguyen Thi Nhon, 56, of Cheng Hamlet, is harvesting durians from her 0.3-hectare orchard.

The 50 trees are estimated to produce about one metric ton this year, with some bearing large numbers of fruit.

Nhon said her family has grown the durians using organic-oriented farming methods while learning and refining their cultivation techniques along the way.

This year, the family began selling the fruit at around VND80,000 (about US$3) per kilogram, with buyers giving positive feedback on its quality, she said.

Nguyen Duy Phuong, 47, of Phung Lam Hamlet in the same commune, has planted more than 70 Musang King trees among his coffee plants to make better use of his land.

After three years of organic-oriented cultivation, the durian trees have grown to more than two meters tall.

Phuong said durian is a new crop in Huong Phung, but the area's soil and climate are relatively similar to those of the Central Highlands, a major durian-growing region.

Durian is considered a demanding crop, so he was surprised to see the trees in his trial plot growing well and beginning to produce good-quality fruit, Phuong said.

The Huong Phung administration said the commune currently has about 20 hectares planted with durians, with half of the area concentrated in designated growing areas.

Initial results indicate that durians are relatively well suited to the commune's climate and soil conditions, the authorities said.

In Vinh Hoang Commune, Nguyen Huu Quynh was the first local resident to experiment with durian cultivation, planting around 70 Monthong and Ri 6 durian trees.

Although he was initially unsure whether the trees would adapt to local conditions, they have produced fruit sporadically over the past few years.

This year, his trees yielded nearly 200 fruits, some weighing up to six kilograms.

Quynh said he sold the durians for VND70,000 ($2.7) per kilogram and received positive feedback from buyers.

Nguyen Hong Phuong, deputy director of the Quang Tri Department of Agriculture and Environment, said the department is aware that some farmers in the province have been experimenting with durian cultivation and encourages such trials.

However, durian is a demanding crop, she said, adding that the department needs more time to assess how well it adapts to local conditions before determining whether it can be developed on a larger scale.