The Latest on Longkong

By Zac Sarian

September 24, 2010, 7:16pm

Read about the latest on Longkong, the superior variety of lanzones from Thailand, in the October issue of Agriculture Magazine which is now off the press.

Longkong has been proven to be highly adapted to local conditions. As per the observation of Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona, the fruit expert from Mindanao who popularized Longkong in the Philippines, Longkong has been observed to be more tolerant to dry spell than the native lanzones. He has observed this during a previous El Nino phenomenon.

Aside from Dr. Pamplona, a few growers have been able to produce commercial volumes from their Longkong plantings. One commercial grower is Antonio Partoza of Davao City. According to Larry Micolub who has bought fruits from him for resale, Partoza harvested this year a few tons from his plantation.

One good thing about Longkong is that it can be induced to bear fruit off-season so that the fruits could be sold at a higher price. This could be done by maintaining good health of the trees and then subjecting the same to stress for three weeks or longer. This means that the trees should not be watered during this period. After stressing the trees, they should be thoroughly irrigated or flooded. This will stimulate flowering.

By the way, Dr. Pamplona and Marisa Garcia of the University of Southern Mindanao have come out with a book on the Lansium family with special emphasis on the production of Longkong and Duku lanzones.

You will also read about the Mitra Line of Anglo Nubian goats being developed by the Alaminos Goat Farm in Laguna. The Mitra Line is a very promising breed that is prolific, fast growing and with show features. One line is being developed for meat production while another is for milk production. Some of them will be showcased at the forthcoming Agrilink trade show on October 7 to 9 at the World Trade Center-Metro Manila.

You will also read about how Pangasius is being promoted in Zamboanga peninsula while experts in Cagayan Valley are busy producing fingerlings. Big opportunities in mariculture parks are also featured in the October issue.

A cooperative in Mindanao is turning banana rejects into flour, animal feed and organic fertilizer. Many other informative features are found in the new edition of Agriculture Magazine, including an innovative way of harvesting rainwater, off-season sitao production , sweet sorghum for hand-made paper production, and many more.

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NEW WEEKEND MARKET. A new weekend market for agricultural produce will open soon inside the 5.4-hectare compound of Santuario de San Vicente de Paul at 221 Tandang Sora Avenue, Quezon City. This is a project of AANI in collaboration with Fr. Rolando Tuazon, administrator and project director of the church as well as rector of St. Vincent Seminary. Fresh farm produce will be available on Saturdays and Sundays. Technicians of AANI will also coach vegetable gardeners in Quezon City who can later sell their harvests at the new weekend market.

Source- Manila Bulletin