ISHS Acta Horticulturae 321: Frontier in Tropical Fruit Research
RAMBUTAN INDUSTRY IN THE NORTHERN TERRITORY - CURRENT STATUS, RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EMPHASIS |
| Author: | T.K. Lim |
| Abstract:
Rambutan is gaining in commercial importance in the Northern Territory. Plantings have increased appreciably to about 20,000 trees. Production is confined to areas around Darwin, north of the Adelaide River because of constraints of salinity and temperature. Currently, the markets are small but rather lucrative; largely interstate and to a smaller extent local. Rambutan is complementary to mango as it crops immediately after the mango crop in October, and comes in earlier than rambutan in Queensland. To sustain the growth of the rambutan industry, research and development emphases are stressed on a wide range of topics, notable among which are :i) to understand the interaction of meteorological factors and irrigation cum fertilisation practices so as to sustain early flowering and fruit set; ii) to reduce the adverse impact of ants-mealy bugs-sooty mould infestation and bird damage by environment- and user-friendly approaches; and iii) to extend the post-harvest shelf-life of the fruit. | |
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