“Mayongchit”, a fruit from the same family as the sweet Marian plum, is the most famous specialty of the central province of Nakhon Nayok, where a fruit festival just kicked off on Thursday. What does the “Mayongchit” look like? Let’s find out.
These egg-shaped Marian plums are called Mayongchit. They taste sweet and tempered with a sour drop like ripe mango.
In Nakon Nayok, Mayongchit cultivation covers 5,000 rai of farmland, or 2,000 acres. The special breed here is the organic Toon-Glao, patented last year by the Intellectual Property Department. Its produce is sold to the amount of some 300 tonnes a year.
A farm owner said agriculturists had used chemical fertiliser to grow Mayongchit. The harvest went well in the beginning but their orchards later yielded fewer fruits with a sour flavour and the soil became less and less fertile.
The Nakhon Nayok Provincial Agricultural Extension Office then suggested Mayongchit growers use organic fertiliser and enzyme ionic plasma, instead of chemical fertiliser, and wood vinegar, a byproduct from charcoal production which also helps fruit trees yield more produce, instead of pesticides.
Within a year, the organic Mayongchit trees did provide more fruit of larger size and sweeter taste. It also helps cut the cost of tree care from almost 300 to 100 baht each.
"Organic fertiliser helps keep the freshness of the fruits longer. It can make the fruits, let’s say, stay fresh for a month and 10 days, while those grown by chemical fertiliser can last for a month only. They also taste sweeter with organic fertiliser," said Udom Changmai, a farm owner.
Due to the longer-than-usual cold spell last month, it’s expected Mayongchit fruit could be harvested as many as three times this year.
It’s estimated the egg-shaped golden fruit could fetch at least 300 million baht.
"In terms of income for Mayongchit growers, we consider it very good. The production cost per kilo is Bt150-200 on average. Thus, there’ll be money circulating in our province several million baht each harvest season," said Karin Lainarittisingh from Provincial Agricultural Extension Office.
If you have a chance to travel to Nakhon Nayok, the annual festival of the chemical-free ‘Sweet Marian Plum’ is now being held in front of the provincial seat’s Town Hall until February 25th. (TNA)
Features : Last Update : 08:21:35 20 February 2009 (GMT+7:00)
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