Hot Spell Resulting In Lower Durian Supply

As read on Malaysian newspaper, the hot spell has affected durian supply this year.  It was reported that durian supply (Penang) will be 40% lesser than past seasons.  A few durian plantation owners in Penang have reported lesser fruits, trees dying, fruits dropping off, etc.

As written in previous post, the hot spell will result in insufficient water for durian trees, which I suspect then, will result in 'lokok' (uneven ripening) durians.  

What the news report provided was, the heat wave resulted in fruits dropping off unripe, to the extend, the durians are not even reaching full growth when it dropped off.  Plantation owners goes to the extend of 'showering' (watering) the trees.

This dry spell has affected North Malaysia more than South.  Weather further north are usually hotter than south, coupled with the hot spell, it makes things worst.  Reservoirs and dams are drying up, schools closed, etc.  Let's hope the rain comes soon.

http://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2016/04/12/current-hot-season-puts-the-heat-on-durian-supply/

2016 El-Nino Hot Spell On Durian

As reported in the news, these coming 2 months will see very warm weather. It was also mentioned,2015 was the warmest and driest year. The last time we experienced such weather was in 1997 and 1998 was also very dry.

Coincidently, 1998 saw one of the best durians followed by 2015 mid year durian season. Will this trend repeat this year?

Durians grown on hilly slopes are said to taste better than those on flat ground.  This is due to the well drained soil condition in slopes.

As blog previously, durians from Johor region in mid year season can actually be better due to the flat ground and dry season.  The low rainfall will result in the soil being rather dry, but not overly dry.  At the same time, in Pahang, it's mountainous thus the slopes may get a little drier.  It was reported, Northern states of Malaysia are experiencing very hot weather.

Since this year's global weather is facing a hot spell from El Nino, what is the possible impact on durian supply?

Just some guess work.  The extra hot and dry spell may cause Pahang's durian for the mid year season (which already started) to potentially be even more 'lokok' (durian industry's term for unevenly ripe durian) than usual mid year durians.

But would this also result in better or bigger supply for year end durian?

Disclaimer and Self Accolade

I think it is appropriate for me to clearly mention a few things at this juncture.  Up to April 2015, I only had approximately 17,000 hits, while by December 2015, the readership doubled to 34,000 (not exact figures but round down).  This doubling effect could be due to the bumper supply and the exceptionally great tasting durian we had in mid-2015 (the last such unforgettable tasting durian was in 2008).

Since readers are from across the globe (even from US, Europe, across many parts of Asia, etc), I need to make some disclaimers.

Firstly, Durianlicious is a word which I coined when I decided to start this blog in May 2012.  The world is a combination of my thoughts, "durian is delicious", thus the combination into, DURIANLICIOUS!  I have not come across this word then, nor do I claim to be the originator of this word (in case there are others already using it officially before me).

Secondly, in all my post, I don't mention any durian business names as I am not affiliated to any durian business, be it whole fruit, dessert or even products, and do not want to influence readers with my opinion up to this point in time.  I think this is to be fair to businesses and readers, as my opinion can than be neutral.  I must be one of the few that talked about some durian without any mention of any particular sellers till now.

However, if one day, I am remunerated [be it in cash or in kind] to write, I will specifically mention it so that readers will know the particular post is influenced.  I do not foresee this day coming, unless my readership is so huge someday.

Thirdly, I do not own or endorse any businesses or products using this name Durianlicious.  Do not be tricked by any into believing this blog is theirs.  If anyone makes such claims, please let me know.  Dishonesty in claims proves dishonesty in business and I will encourage you to boycott them at all cost.  There are hundreds of stores, no need to patronised any dishonest ones.

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(P/S : I'm unable to add any revenue generating links to my blog till date [have to mention too, since Singapore taxation body is looking into taxing revenue from online revenue streams])

---------- update August 2016 ----------

I've started a Facebook just to copy and paste some of my post here into Facebook. However, it won't contain every post I've written here.