Songkhla farmers introduce ‘fossil durian’ that flourishes in lignite deposits

“This project is backed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand, which has helped survey the areas in Kuha and Thungpor subdistricts, which are rich in fossils and lignite stones, which appear to be suitable for growing durian,” he said. “We have named the new strain ‘fossil durian’ and the first batch of 1,040 trees are expected to soon produce about 2 tonnes of fruit,” he said.

The new strain tastes something between the Monthong durian and Songkhla’s local strain, with exceptionally small seeds, which means more meat per fruit.
“Fossil durians also have thick, strong stems, while the spikes are similar to the Monthong strain,” he said.
Ekphol added that Kuha subdistrict administrative organisation was helping farmers by providing growing advice and publicising the produce online.

“So far we have received orders for more than 200 fruits and will soon start delivering durians to customers. It is highly recommended that the durians be eaten as soon as they ripen, otherwise they will lose some of the flavour,” he added.
“Overripe fossil durians should be turned into ice cream instead.”
The subdistrict administrative organisation is selling seeds at Bt100 apiece.
“Fossil durian trees are resilient to all types of weather and can bear fruit for 50 years,” he said.
Call (09) 1238 1829 for more information.