Author Topic: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012  (Read 5085 times)

FloridaGreenMan

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Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« on: January 22, 2012, 09:19:37 PM »
Inside the Whitman Fruit Pavilion, there were no fruits to see since most are summer bearers but I have attached a photo of their beautiful Langsat (Lansium domesticum) tree. I hope to see it fruit some day soon.  The small sign shows that this is a grafted tree. The color sign refers to Fairchild's tropical fruit farm in Homestead.     








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fruitlovers

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #1 on: January 23, 2012, 01:08:50 AM »
That sign is for longkong, which is different from langsat. Longkong is a much bigger fruit, almost seedless, and has none of the bitterness of langsat. Another + is that longkong is faster bearing and more vigorous than langsat.
Oscar
Oscar

FloridaGreenMan

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #2 on: January 23, 2012, 06:57:52 AM »
Here is the missing photo of the Langsat tree



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murahilin

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2012, 11:44:44 AM »
That sign is for longkong, which is different from langsat. Longkong is a much bigger fruit, almost seedless, and has none of the bitterness of langsat. Another + is that longkong is faster bearing and more vigorous than langsat.
Oscar

Do you consider the longkong to be a different species and not just a variety of the langsat? I've seen it described as a variety as Noel's picture of the tag at Fairchild's shows and also as a different species.

HMHausman

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2012, 06:05:04 PM »
Does anyone know what Sherry had for us to taste in Puerto Rico.  What I have been calling langsat is sweet with a hint of grapefruit taste.  Very nicely flavored, actually. Jay has raved about Longkong.  Oscar says it is much quicker to fruit.  I assume it is still ultra-tropical...right?  The seedlings that I have from the seed from Puerto Rico have grown about 2 inches in two years plus.  Oscar, how much faster does longkong fruit in relation to the run of the mill langsat?  Are Longkong seeds available, and if so when?  Thanks.

Harry
Harry
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fruitlovers

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2012, 01:19:11 AM »
Murahilin, most books describe longkong as the same species as langsat. I've seen that Dr. Salakpetch, a fruit specialist in Thailand describes it as a different species. In either case the fruit is quite different from langsat. ( (Cabbage, brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli, and collard greens are botanically same species, Brassica oleraceae, but we wouldn't interchange their names on a plant label, would we?)
Harry, if the fruit you tasted had a grapefruit taste it was probably langstat.
To complicate things a bit further there are 4 distinct versions of this fruit:
Langsat, Duku, Duku-Langsat, and Longkong.
The longkong appeared on the scene last i believe. It usually costs about 3X as much in markets in Thailand as the langsat. So that will give you some idea of the improvement in quality.
Longkong can fruit in 6-8 years in tropics. Langsat takes 12-20 depending on treatment. I usually have seeds of langsat and longkong in late summmer. Longkong seeds are much more expensive because most fruits are seedless.
Oscar
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TropicalFruitHunters

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2012, 07:43:11 AM »
Oscar's right.  In Thailand, the longkong is one of the most sought after.  The only fruit to rival durian in price too.  Bigger, tastier, less latex, and usually less seeds...to Warren's dismay!  Every farm we visited grew longkong.  Definitely one of our favorites and in my top five.

This is my mother-in-law


Warren




Longkong with corky bark disease.  Most of the trees we saw, if not all, had this to some degree or another.  Didn't seem to affect the tree much or the production.  Just very unsightly.  Maybe Oscar can chime in on this.


TropicalFruitHunters

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #7 on: January 24, 2012, 04:10:49 PM »
Sorry Harry....yes...the fruit we had at Sherry's were langsat.

fruitlovers

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #8 on: January 25, 2012, 02:24:58 AM »
Hi Jay, i don't know what causes that corky bark on branches of the langsats. All i can tell you is that we have something very similar, maybe the same thing on almost all the rambutans. Some few rambutan cultivars are less susceptible. They still fruit OK, but it makes it very difficult to graft.
Oscar
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TropicalFruitHunters

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2012, 06:54:52 AM »
Never even considered the grafting aspect before.  That would complicate the procedure.  Is this stuff growing from the tree or is it a fungus "attached" to the tree?  Just wondering if it can be scraped off without damaging the bark/cambium beneath.  Do you know of any treatments that have been tried with any success?

Fruitguy

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #10 on: January 25, 2012, 09:14:33 AM »
Ah...fond memories!  :)   I recall that a few years ago Dr. Richard Campbell was trying something with the trees at the Whitman Pavillion.  Not sure how it worked out.  Noel, did you notice any corky bark when you were there? 

fruitlovers

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #11 on: January 25, 2012, 03:25:24 PM »
Hi Jay, don't know much about it because never paid much attention to this corky stuff on branches. Here we have all kinds of things growing on branches apart from corcky bark, like moss and lichens. Yes all of these can be washed off. I don't usually do it unless ants are being bothersome and living under all this stuff.
Oscar
Oscar

FloridaGreenMan

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Re: Fairchild Whitman Fruit Pavilion Jan22,2012
« Reply #12 on: January 25, 2012, 10:21:24 PM »
I do think the FTG tree does have corky bark disease
FloridaGreenMan