Huge sweet winter longans

[nullzero]

Mike stop teasing us! I wonder when I can expect any of this stuff in the US. Perhaps seedlings from that Longan, would be worthy to grow out.

[Mike T]

I thought it best to follow through on enquiries about what variety the longans are and if they are some new chinese or thai whopper.

This morning I got some more giant sweet longans and unravelled the mystery of what variety they are.They are in fact nothing special at all just the improved, late biew kiew which is larger and winter bearing.The better taste is due to the farmer near Mareeba having excellent soils and having well looked after trees.He said he had frost last night just 45km from Cairns.

[fruitlovers]

I thought it best to follow through on enquiries about what variety the longans are and if they are some new chinese or thai whopper.

This morning I got some more giant sweet longans and unravelled the mystery of what variety they are.They are in fact nothing special at all just the improved, late biew kiew which is larger and winter bearing.The better taste is due to the farmer near Mareeba having excellent soils and having well looked after trees.He said he had frost last night just 45km from Cairns.

OK, i was wondering if they were Kohalas that were left on the trees too long? Longans tend to hold long time on trees without spoiling. I also notice that if you leave them a long time on the trees they swell up a lot in size. Here when they get swelled up they tend to be more bland.

[fruitlovers]

About wintering bearing, i'm guessing they're not at all winter bearing. He's sprayed them with potassium chlorate to get fruiting off season. Here we have longans year round because farmers rotate spraying with potassium chlorate.

[Mike T]

Oscar they were not old or swelled but fresh, young and extra flavourful.I know how old ones swell but these were tight and crisp and nothing like that.The stall holder last week said the farmer only harvests during the 3 winter months.The farmer this morning confirmed this saying he does well and is happy to have none to harvest during the regular season.I suspect they are not induced being so fat and healthy and only fruiting once a year. I don't know how it could be improved unless just taken from an exceptional branch or tree that fruited way later,had larger fruit or tasted better.Whatever he has done the size,taste and winter fruiting fruiting has put him in a fabulous position and they were one of the hottest items at the market.
 

[fruitlovers]

Oscar they were not old or swelled but fresh, young and extra flavourful.I know how old ones swell but these were tight and crisp and nothing like that.The stall holder last week said the farmer only harvests during the 3 winter months.The farmer this morning confirmed this saying he does well and is happy to have none to harvest during the regular season.I suspect they are not induced being so fat and healthy and only fruiting once a year. I don't know how it could be improved unless just taken from an exceptional branch or tree that fruited way later,had larger fruit or tasted better.Whatever he has done the size,taste and winter fruiting fruiting has put him in a fabulous position and they were one of the hottest items at the market.

Mike, longans don't normally fruit in winter, and Biew Kiew is not normally that size! My guess is that first he sprays them with potassium chlorate to force flowering, then when they start fruiting he sprays them with gibberelic acid to swell them up in size! Is he organic? 

[Mike T]

Oscar yes I know they are bigger and later than you would expect possible and that is why I posted the pics originally.I will try to find out more if he is there at lunch time but the stall holder seems to know a bit about them as well.If they are simply a very late,giant line that tastes great then they should be everywhere.If he pushes them to flower and enlarge I wnder if they would also have a small crop inn the regular season.Leave it with me I'll do some detective work.

[Mike T]

Todays ones taste young and fresh and they are good quality.I asked the stall holder if he knew how the farmer got them so late and large.He said he didn't know if any 'prompting' had been used but believes they are a variant of he standard biew biew.He did say that some years the farmers longans come in as much as 10 weeks earlier so there an is erratic fruiting time.

[JF]

If only it were december and I could show some fai zee sui lychees then eyes would be popping.I hate to be a smarty pants but maybe Florida is just not ready yet for this kind of longan or fai zee sui and the giant seedless lychees as you guys are still going through your kohala and bosworth 3 phases.

You get them over to us....I'lll show you whose not ready!

Harry

hahahaha I don't think that the Aussies have ever heard the pharase *Don't Mess With Florida*....give'em Hell Harry!

JF

[zands]

Mike T, don't think it has anything at all to do with Florida "not being ready" to grow better cultivars. It has everything to do with accesibility. Look at a map mate, you in Australia are a whole lot closer to Asia than is Florida. Australians are known to vacation in Bali, Thailand, Indonesia, etc. quite commonly. How many Floridians go that far on vacation or to collect plant material? Florida is going to be a lot richer in material coming from Mexico and other parts of latin America, as it is right next door to that, and you are not.

This is true but it also seems the people who immigrate from semi-tropical Asia to Australia are more likely to be agricultural types than those who immigrate to USA. You are more likely to find their produce in farmers markets in Oz than in USA.

[Mike T]

I;ll keep the advice about not messin with Florida in mind.I'm sure Oscar is correct and they are not out of the ordinary.A few squirts of inducement and you'd see big winter longans anywhere.That magic spray also seems to improve flavor.

[Soren]

Fruitlovers i forgot about mangoes the most potent example of your proposition.

It appears to me that Asians and Southamericans are growing a bigger selection of fruit species than say Northamericans and Africans. Perhaps a cultural thing?

[fruitlovers]

I;ll keep the advice about not messin with Florida in mind.I'm sure Oscar is correct and they are not out of the ordinary.A few squirts of inducement and you'd see big winter longans anywhere.That magic spray also seems to improve flavor.

Yes Mike, a few squirts of chemical inducement and you would see those longans in Cairns year round. I know we have them here year round.

[murahilin]

It appears to me that Asians and Southamericans are growing a bigger selection of fruit species than say Northamericans and Africans. Perhaps a cultural thing?

I think many North Americans are growing fruit trees. More temperate trees though because there isn't much sub tropical land in the US. You should see some of the awesome work that universities in the US are doing with blueberries and other more temperate fruits.

[murahilin]

This is true but it also seems the people who immigrate from semi-tropical Asia to Australia are more likely to be agricultural types than those who immigrate to USA. You are more likely to find their produce in farmers markets in Oz than in USA.

I don't think it has anything to do with being agricultural types or not but more to do with the climate here. We barely have any land in the US that can grow the true tropicals that many of them would like to grow. They are limited to growing the subtropicals in parts of CA and FL.

[Mike T]

I think Murahilin is correct with tassie down to abou 45 latitude and Cape York 10 latitude,Australia is a bit more into the tropics than the US.The population is only 23 million here and there is alot of land available for agriculture and much fruit is exported.That being said Oscars observation that far more meso and southern american fruit would be in florida and they are better in quality is likely to be true.There is a leaning toward the Asian fruit here but I doubt the diversity would be higher in NQ than Florida or Hawaii.

[zands]

I think Murahilin is correct with tassie down to abou 45 latitude and Cape York 10 latitude,Australia is a bit more into the tropics than the US.The population is only 23 million here and there is alot of land available for agriculture and much fruit is exported.That being said Oscars observation that far more meso and southern american fruit would be in florida and they are better in quality is likely to be true.There is a leaning toward the Asian fruit here but I doubt the diversity would be higher in NQ than Florida or Hawaii.

You and Murahalin are right. Lots more of Australia is tropical and subtropical than USA plus more land at reasonable prices. The cultural exchange goes both directions....

Chef David Thompson of Australia famous for his Thai food http://newyork.seriouseats.com/2012/05/scenes-from-the-luckyrice-chiang-mai-dinner-andy-ricker-pok-pok-david-thompson-thai-asian-food-festival-event-recap.html