A Malaysian plantation is utilising high-tech measures to improve its harvest of spicy durians, including drones spraying pesticide, sensors recording soil readings, and sprinklers that pour fertiliser at the push of a button.
Due to its bittersweet flavours and creamy golden flesh, the spiky durian is known as the “King of fruits” in Southeast Asia, and it is very popular in China.
Top Fruits Plantations, a Malaysian grower, has turned to high-tech approaches to boost its productivity in a competitive market.
During a recent visit of one of the company’s plantations in Batu Pahat, southern Johor state, managing director Tan Sue Sian told AFP: “It’s a much speedier approach to obtain more consistent outcomes.”
Farmers can better determine how much fertiliser and water the trees require by using technology, he said.
“The fruit will be lot more consistent if you give what is required. The shape will be improved, as well as the aroma “Tan, who has been producing durians for over 30 years, remarked.
SENSOR ESSENTIAL
Sensors placed throughout 160 hectares of Top Fruits’ 700-acre Batu Pahat plantation, conveying data on soil condition and composition to employees’ portable devices, are a key component of the initiative.
The sensors are boxes installed on poles with a system of cables connecting them to the soil. They should be installed throughout the plantation by 2024.
Sprinklers connected to a network of pipes are remotely operated to spray fertiliser on the trees, while drones spray pesticide over the plantation.
On Malaysian durian fields, such approaches are unheard of, with farmers typically relying on a big workforce, instinct, and educated guesses.
Top Fruits has invested roughly RM4 million (US$900,000) on the technology over the last three years.
The investment has proven to be fruitful resulting in a 40% rise in yields while the labour has dropped by 30%.
The company can currently produce 800 tonnes of durians each year from its plantations, with more than 80% of the crop frozen in facilities and sent overseas, primarily to China.
Top Fruits is getting into research by building up a lab and cooperating with local universities in order to increase their produce even more.
