Durian is only available in certain regions of the world. Hence, many people don’t know how durian is harvested. Since I’ve harvested durian before, I decided to share about the different ways to harvest durian.
Generally, durian can be harvested as follow:
- Pick up durian from the ground
- Catch durian with netting
- Harvest durian string
Sometimes, people misunderstood the way durian is harvested due to the lack of elaboration. Nevertheless, let’s take a closer look at each durian harvesting method.
1. Pick Up Durian from the Ground
Some people thought that durian can be plucked from the durian tree. But, the truth is durian naturally falls from the durian tree when ripe.
Hence, most durians are traditionally picked up from the ground.
However, a particular type of durian which is the Montong durian from Thailand is traditionally harvested before they are fully ripe and thus, Montong durians are plucked from the durian tree.
Durians plucked from the durian tree are not fully ripe yet. However, it is a method to prolong the durian shelf life, especially when they are going to be exported to other countries.
Based on my experience, durians usually fall the most in the early morning around 3am to 5am during the durian season. Back then, my father and I will pick them up at around 6am and bring them to the nearby market to sell.
Nowadays, commercial durian farms rarely harvest durian by waiting for it to fall and picking it up from the ground because the quality of the durian will be affected.
Adult durian trees are very tall. Hence, when the durian falls, it hits the ground hard (especially when it hits the durian tree roots) and that may cause it to break or crack which reduces its selling price.
Since letting the durian fall when ripe is the most natural way to harvest durian, we let the grasses around the durian tree grow to a certain height and thickness so that they act as absorbers and reduce the impact of the durian when it hits the ground.
Still, commercial durian farms are trying to maximize their return on investment and thus, they rarely pick up durian from the ground.
2. Catch Durian with Netting
One of the ways commercial durian farms harvest durian is by catching durian with netting. It is a common way to harvest durian apart from the traditional pick up from the ground.
Netting is a relatively easier and cheaper method to prevent durian from damaging upon landing when ripe. Besides, netting helps gather fallen durians together for easy collection.
However, netting can’t prevent all durians from getting damaged.
Normally, netting is done a few feet above the ground. As a result, durians that fall from up high may still hit the durian tree branches and get damaged.
Furthermore, netting occupies a lot of space which leads to maintenance difficulty.
3. Harvest Durian with String
Professional durian farms tie a string to each durian on the durian tree. When the durian is ripe and drops off from the durian tree branch, the string immediately catches the durian thereby preventing the durian from falling onto the ground and getting damaged.
Premium durians with superb quality are mostly harvested with string. Each and every durian is perfect this way. Thus, the selling price can be higher.
However, strings can’t be installed before the durian is fully grown as the size of the durian will be affected as well as the selling price.
So, this durian harvesting method requires extensive skills and experience to time the string installation period correctly.
Once the durian is ripe and hanging on the durian tree by the string, farmers can then lower it down carefully and collect it.
Watch how the farmer lowers down the hanging durian with string:
Fundamentally, the durian still falls off its branch when ripe but it was caught by the string to preserve its quality.
However, not to confuse it with the other application of strings. Often, durian farmers use strings/ropes to support the durian tree branch to prevent it from breaking due to the weight of the durian.
Below is an example of how the durian tree branch is supported with a rope:
Furthermore, certain durians are prone to crack at the bottom of the durian. Hence, farmers sometimes tie the bottom of the durian with a string to prevent it from opening too soon which can affect the quality of the durian fruits within.
Conclusion
Durian naturally falls when ripe. Hence, the most natural way to harvest durian is by picking it up from the ground. However, the quality of fallen durians is often less than ideal. Therefore, netting and string are the preferred methods to harvest durian, especially on commercial durian farms.