Los Baños, Laguna – The Regional Durian Research and Development (R&D) program (Phase2) kicked off recently in an inception meeting held at the headquarters of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD).
Geared towards increased fruit yield, improved fruit quality, and more efficient fertilizer application, the program will establish durian tree management practices for six durian Philippine varieties namely, Puyat, Arancillo, Kob, Duyaya, D101, and Karnyao. It will also validate the program results of Phase 1 to generate more conclusive and comprehensive results.
The program, “Enhancing Productivity and Sustainability of the Durian Industry in Southern Mindanao for Improved Market Access Phase 2,” will be implemented by the Bureau of Plant Industry-Davao National Crop Research Development and Production Support Center (BPI-DNCRDPSC), University of Southern Mindanao (USM), and University of Southeastern Philippines (USeP) in Southern Mindanao for two years.
The program will develop a fertilization guide based on the optimum nutrient standards of durian. It will also cross validate the pruning, detopping, flower and fruit thinning techniques, and fertilization standard of durian for optimum yield and quality.
A Geographic Information System (GIS)-aided soil suitability map for durian in Davao and Cotabato is also among the expected outputs of the program.
The program is one of the initiatives of DOST-PCAARRD to help the local durian industry in achieving a higher national average production.
The Crops Research Division (CRD) of DOST-PCAARRD organized the inception meeting to level off expectations and fine-tune the technical and financial aspects of the program.
Dr. Jocelyn E. Eusebio, Director of CRD, led the panel of technical evaluators along with Dr. Domingo E. Angeles and Dr. Erlinda S. Paterno of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.