Author Topic: Durians overheated and suffering lack of water (Read 6358 times)

Mike T · « **on:** December 28, 2012, 04:16:55 PM »

The same fellow with the chempedaks who lives around the corner from me has a great collection of fruit fruit trees in a small backyard with concrete paths winding through them.20 to 30 year old rambutans,mangosteens,chempedak,duku.longkong,maprang,abiu and durians trees and many more fill his block and it doesn't seem crowded under the 15 to 20 ft canopy.
There has been a record low 8 inches of rain in 6 months and the trees are stressed but responding with multiple flowering and excess fruiting.Temperatures have also been high with 25 to 34c every day lately.Many fruit and flowers fall off but clusters of survivors are hanging in there..

The durians are gumpun,luang,kan yeow,montong,D103,D99 and D102 and all are responding in a similar way with leaf loss and multiple flowering.They have been on easy street for many years.

Saltcayman · « **Reply #1 on:** December 28, 2012, 05:33:29 PM »

Hi mike how long do you suppose those trees can survive without supplemental water? Is drip irrigation an option? Sure hope v it rains soon. Best, Dave

Mike T · « **Reply #2 on:** December 28, 2012, 05:49:36 PM »

Howdy Dave, I think because there was 140 inches of rain last year and 48 inches in march there must be enough groundwater to let them survive even if they are on a slope.If temps remain high another 6 weeks without rain could see the first casualties of mangosteens,longkong and durians.Those species that handle drought best like the maprang will be ok and intermediate ones like chempa and abiu will lose alot of leaves soon.I can see the same pattern in my yard as well.40 miles south of here in the really rainy area there was 7 or 8 inches of rain last week and good rain every few weeks.To the north there has also been good rain.Inland the heat storms have been firing up for weeks.

Ethan · « **Reply #3 on:** December 28, 2012, 07:23:35 PM »

Hopefully the rain will come that way soon! It is a shame to put so much time an effort into such beautiful trees and have to worry about something completely out of your control. I hope he has drip lines and lots of mulch.

fruitlovers · « **Reply #4 on:** December 29, 2012, 02:14:58 AM »

Hi Mike, from my experience durians are extremely susceptible to water stress. It's a big mistake not to water them during even short drought periods. Even mature trees can croak during short droughts. The fact that they are dropping leaves is a sure danger sign. If i were that fellow i would hand water them immediately.

Mike T · « **Reply #5 on:** December 29, 2012, 02:45:46 AM »

Oscar you are right and even in the next week some trees might stress to much to get back to normal.He is a retired aricultural scientist who specialized in tropical fruits with the agricultural dept.He was central to commercializing rambutan,mangosteen,durian,abiu and many other species in north queensland. It makes it hard to impress the urgency of the need for water as he is an expert and they have never needed water before.
I'd love to work for the weather bureau and be able mess it up and get it wrong every day and still spring back to work with the past forgotten.There have more more forecasts of rain and heavy rain in the last 12 weeks than sunny days.They haven'y buckled and predicted a sunny day for quite a while now, but have stuck to their guns and predicted rain every day in spite of what is going on outside for real.

red durian · « **Reply #6 on:** December 29, 2012, 04:54:20 AM »

I can't understand how durians do fine without supplemental watering in East Java. I saw lots of trees where the dry season is 6 months long and the one ground water well I peered into was 40 ' deep.

Felipe · « **Reply #7 on:** December 29, 2012, 06:49:43 AM »

Oh dear! I hope you guys get plenty of rain soon...

BMc · « **Reply #8 on:** December 30, 2012, 05:45:22 AM »

Mike, we've had quite a few showers in Brisbane, but every single one has missed our place. We're still waiting for you guys to send a nice tropical low our way. It's li,e it's regressed into a dry spring with temps dropping along with the humidity. Funnily enough, I still have to mow the grass twice a week!

Mike T · « **Reply #9 on:** December 30, 2012, 05:56:56 AM »

Bmc I haven't mown since June and normally it is once a week in December.The forecasts such as today are for rain and 23 to 32c by contrast there was no rain and it was 26 to 34.5c and this has been the pattern for weeks.I sure tomorrow will be the day judging by all the modelling.

There is a cat 4 cyclone in the coral sea but it is heading away.You guys are predicted to be wetter and cooler than average over summer.

Mike T · « **Reply #10 on:** December 30, 2012, 03:33:32 PM »

Cultivator it is even browner now and I have been watching the radar like a hawk.There is a 40km stretch of coast that the rain has missed for months in a way that defies belief and we are chewing on dust.

Mike T · « **Reply #11 on:** December 30, 2012, 03:54:42 PM »

Cultivator now watch the heavy cloud disappear on the southern limits of the town.Giant Marratias are evn more sensitive than kings and they are also struggling in the hills around here.There has been a long run of wet dry seasons so it had to turn around some time.The new power arrangement for the Daintree will be very costly and perhaps of little benefit to residents.Do you have any S.suborbiculare on your place?

Mike T · « **Reply #12 on:** December 30, 2012, 04:38:08 PM »

The Cape Trib lady apples are some of the best and there are great wild cedar bay cherries as well.Along Hutchinson Creek there are some very good S.fibrosum.The radar shows the cloud has parted dramatically like the red sea at the last minute and a dustbowl corridor is down the middle.

BMc · « **Reply #13 on:** December 31, 2012, 07:32:07 AM »

Heard you are forecast to get 100mm over the next week. I'd be happy with just a few mil. We're going for 35 for the next few days with no rain in sight for weeks... 😭

Heard Hamilton I got 95mil in one day, Tully got 150mil and 50mil in one hour. The rain will hit you soon and do so with a vengeance! That will save the durians no worries.

Mike T · « **Reply #14 on:** December 31, 2012, 07:41:35 AM »

BMc the rain has arrived.Well about 15mm of it and that I reckon is the start of the rainy season.A few frogs are even croaking but not going bezerk just yet.It is all high 5's and group hugs around the garden now.

Mike T · « **Reply #15 on:** December 31, 2012, 04:06:03 PM »

Cultivator I would be up to 25mm now and there were even fireworks to celebrate the rain.Noah Beach has got great cedar bay cherries.In fact every spot where there are peppemint stck insects along the beach they are good cedar bay cherries 'behind' them.They are pretty good from cedar bay as well.

Mike T · « **Reply #16 on:** December 31, 2012, 05:19:32 PM »

That amethyst would be close to the record as the worrell specimen was not 28ft.I get 5.5m max ones in the yard after ducks and geese and a fat 5m one was almost 20kg some weeks ago.
Ryporosa do put on quite a cauliflorous display.I bet you get some annonaceae like Pseudavaria fraggatti and cauliflorous Syzigiums like cormiflora and its sister species that I forget the name of.
I have walked over just about every part of the Emmagen to Daintree River patch even before it was subdivided.At noah there is a huge red beech covered in moss.The whole area has been flogged now and the wildlife has dimished incredibly in the last 25 years.

fruitlovers · « **Reply #17 on:** January 01, 2013, 02:34:19 AM »

Quote from: Mike T on December 31, 2012, 04:06:03 PM

Cultivator I would be up to 25mm now and there were even fireworks to celebrate the rain.Noah Beach has got great cedar bay cherries.In fact every spot where there are peppemint stck insects along the beach they are good cedar bay cherries 'behind' them.They are pretty good from cedar bay as well.

Mike, cedar bay cherries in your neck of the woods haven't yet succumbed to the dreaded puccinia rust?

Mike T · « **Reply #18 on:** January 01, 2013, 03:37:11 AM »

Oscar I have seen it once in the biggest and best friuting cedar bay cherry around.Aparrently it is sprading around my district with cedar bay cherries and rose apples being extremely vulnerable.

BMc · « **Reply #19 on:** January 01, 2013, 03:50:48 AM »

If you come across a cedar bay cherry with good fruit I'd love some seed! Mine was outta this world, much better than my othe r Eugenia, and I have a few. The myrtle rust killed it, but I'd like to try again as I've learnt how and what to spray and there should be a bit of genetic variation to resistance. I'd also love seed of the native garcinia if they are everywhere up there. They grow brilliantly here.

Moorpark Guy · « **Reply #20 on:** January 01, 2013, 03:51:59 AM »

Can you please post pictures of your neighbors other tropicals(rambutans,mangosteen) etc?

Mike T · « **Reply #21 on:** January 01, 2013, 06:25:24 AM »

Moorpark the yard is a couple of miles away not my neighbor.The trees were a bit big and close together to get good shots.His flowering duku and big maprang would have been worth photos.Maybe next time I go there when he has dozens of durians.

fruitlovers · « **Reply #22 on:** January 01, 2013, 09:11:09 AM »

Quote from: BMc on January 01, 2013, 03:50:48 AM

If you come across a cedar bay cherry with good fruit I'd love some seed! Mine was outta this world, much better than my othe r Eugenia, and I have a few. The myrtle rust killed it, but I'd like to try again as I've learnt how and what to spray and there should be a bit of genetic variation to resistance. I'd also love seed of the native garcinia if they are everywhere up there. They grow brilliantly here.

Pray do tell what you have learned about sprays that work on myrtle rust?

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Author Topic: Durians overheated and suffering lack of water (Read 6358 times)