Mardi aims to cultivate 219 durian varieties in Kuala Kangsar

KUALA KANGSAR: The Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (Mardi) aims to cultivate 219 varieties of durian on 21ha of land at the Kuala Kangsar Mardi Durio AgroPark.

Perak Mardi director Zaiha Zeeti Mohamad Yusob said this initiative is part of Kuala Kangsar Mardi’s role as a support station for research, development, and technology transfer for fruits, specifically durian.

She added that the station currently hosts various clone durians, including D2, D6, D7, MDUR 78, 79, 88, D176, and D133, along with other premium types available in the market.

“We aim to have the entire collection of durians in the country for reference and future research. We want to ensure these varieties are always available, and that cloning will add value to the durians.

“We have the cooperation of the Agricultural Department as a reference to obtain saplings and the work of Mardi staff who look for various types of kampung durians not available in the department’s storage,” she said at a media conference after a durio-tourism event with the media at Kuala Kangsar Mardi on Monday (July 8).

She added that Kuala Kangsar Mardi is organising the Durio-tourism@Mardi Kuala Kangsar package from July 9 to 29 for the public to enjoy premium durians based on the institute’s research.

“The durio-tourism package and sale are set for specific dates, and the public has the opportunity to view orchards filled with durian, pomelos, and mangosteens and enjoy fresh fruits.

“There are two sessions for the package: the morning session from 10am to noon and the afternoon session from 4pm to 6pm.

“The price is RM50 for adults, RM18 for children, and RM35 for the elderly and disabled,” Zaiha Zeeti said, adding that the package was introduced in 2019 but was stopped in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restarted in 2022.

“In 2022, we had to shut it down due to fruit diseases, and the next year we postponed the event due to the unsatisfactory quality of fruits.

“Alhamdulillah, this year, the fruits are available so we’re ready to hold the event for the public for this month only,” she added. – BK