Lanzones Production

Lanzones (Lansium domesticum) was originally native to the Malaysian peninsula and known locally as Langsat.  Lanzones fruits are ovoid, roundish orbs around five centimeters in diameter, usually found in clusters of two to thirty fruits along the branches and trunk.  Each round fruit is covered by yellowish, thick, leathery skin. Underneath the skin, the fruit is divided into five or six slices of translucent, juicy flesh. The flesh is slightly acidic in taste, although ripe specimens are sweeter.  The sweet juicy flesh contains sucrose, fructose, and glucose.   They are usually eaten fresh, but may be canned in syrup.  Seedless sections can be dried like raisins, which is done in the Philippines.  Lanzones is rich in carbohydrate, calcium, phosphorous, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin and vitamin C.

Agriculturally, the tree is grown throughout the entire Southeast asian region, ranging from Southern India to the Philippines for its fruit.  In the Philippines, where it is locally referred to as the lanzones, the plant is grown mostly on the southern parts of the island of Luzon, especially in Paete, Laguna, due to the species’ narrow range of conditions favorable to its survival.  It is also found in abundance on Northern Mindanao particularly in places as Butuan, Cagayan de Oro, and Camiguin. The Camiguin variety is especially sweet and succulent.

Production of Lanzones

LANZONES FACT SHEET:

• Grown in Southern Tagalog and Mindanao
• 10,330 ha. area planted
• Grows well in clay loam soils and in places where the ground water is shallow.
• Thrives best in warm humid climate with an even distribution of rainfall throughout the year.

The problem with lanzones as a crop is that it is seasonal. It produces fruits only in late September through early November and the rest of the year you wait. When the fruits are ripe the bunches are gathered and delicately packed in open baskets called “kaing” and sent to merchants in Manila.

The tree is erect, short-trunk, slender or spreading; reaching 35 to 50 ft (10.5 to 15 m) in height, with red-brown or yellow-brown, furrowed bark. Its leaves are pinnate, 9 to 20 in (22.5-50 cm) long, with 5 to 7 alternate leaflets, obovate or elliptic-oblong, pointed at both ends, 2 3/4 to 8 in (7-20 cm) long, slightly leathery, dark-green and glossy on the upper surface, paler and dull beneath, and with prominent midrib. Small, white or pale-yellow, fleshy, mostly bisexual, flowers are home in simple or branched racemes which may be solitary or in hairy clusters on the trunk and oldest branches, at first standing erect and finally pendant, and 4 to 12 in (10-30 cm) in length.

Lansium domesticaton occurs in at least four cultivated forms, namely, duku, langsat (lansones), duku langsat and dokong. They differ in tree form, fruit and in fruit arrangement. A typical langsat fruit is borne in clusters of 6-10. An individual fruit is round or oval in shape, about 2.5 – 3.0cm long with a comparatively thin skin. The skin exudes latex even when it is mature. Its flesh is divided into 4 – 5 segments. Only one segment contains large, green bitter seed while others contain small seeds or are seedless. Its taste varies from sour, slightly sour to sweet. he duku fruit is round, from 2.5 – 5.0cm in diameter with a thick (6mm) dark colored skin more leathery than duku langsat and langsat.

There are usually 4 – 12 fruits per raceme. The duku langsat fruit resembles that of langsat in shape and colour except that it has a thicker skin. There are usually 5 – 25 fruits per raceme. The fruit is round or oval in shape and from 2 – 4cm in diameter. Like the langsat and duku the skin of duku langsat peels easily from the aril. In duku and duku langsat the flavour is generally very delicate and sweet. Duku langsat is native to Malaysia, Phillippines and Java where it is widely distributed. The Dokong is quite similar to the other lansium, fruit is aborate, flavour is sweet and a little samrish taste, the texture is soft and juicy. It is less asomatic compared to the other 2 lansium.

There are two distinct botanical varieties: 1) L. domesticum var. pubescens, the typical wild langsat which is a rather slender, open tree with hairy branchlets and nearly round, thick-skinned fruits having much milky latex; 2) var. domesticum, called the duku, doekoe, or dookoo, which is a more robust tree, broad-topped and densely foliaged with conspicuously-veined leaflets; the fruits, borne few to a cluster, are oblong-ovoid or ellipsoid, with thin, brownish skin, only faintly aromatic and containing little or no milky latex. The former is often referred to as the “wild” type but both varieties are cultivated and show considerable range of form, size and quality.

There are desirable types in both groups. Some small fruits are completely seedless and fairly sweet. ‘Conception’ is a sweet cultivar from the Philippines; ‘Uttaradit’ is a popular selection in Thailand; ‘Paete’ is a leading cultivar in the Philippines. The langsat is ultra-tropical. Even in its native territory it cannot be grown at an altitude over 2,100 to 2,500 ft (650-750 m). It needs a humid atmosphere, plenty of moisture and will not tolerate long dry seasons. Some shade is beneficial especially during the early years.

Langsats are commonly grown from seeds which must be planted within 1 or 2 days after removal from the fruit. Viability is totally lost in 8 days unless the seeds are stored in polyethylene bags at 39.2º-42.8º F (4º-6º C) where they will remain viable for 14 days. Seedlings will bear in 12 to 20 years. Air-layering is discouraging, as the root system is weak and the survival rate is poor after planting out. Shield-budding has a low rate of success. Cleft- and side-grafting and approach-grafting give good results.

The budwood should be mature but not old, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 in (6.5-9 cm) long, 1/4 to 3/4 in (6-20 mm) thick, and it is joined to rootstock of the same diameter about 2 1/2 to 4 in (6.5-10 cm) above the soil. Some preliminary experiments have been conducted in Puerto Rico with hormone-treated cuttings under intermittent mist. Whitman found that a potted cutting 3 to 4 in (7.5-10 cm) long, will root if covered with a clear plastic bag.

VARIETIES:

Duku

• The tree is usually shorter than the other varieties but has a wider crown.
• Leaves are hairless.
• Fruits are round and are borne from 4 to 12 fruits per raceme.
• Pericarp is thick (up to 6 mm) with no latex.
• It is sweet with a delectable flavor.

Paete

• Grown mostly in Luzon, Misamis Oriental and Camiguin Island.
• Fruit is elongated and smallest among the varieties.
• Leaves are lanceolate.
• The tree is erect.
• Trees are relatively susceptible to bark borer infestation.

Longkong

• A variety introduced from Thailand and Indonesia.
• The fruit is sweet and tasty.
• Almost seedless.
• The skin or peel has no latex.

SITE SELECTION:

• Flat to hilly within 600 m above sea level.
• The land should have a loamy or sandy soil.
• 2,500 – 3,000 mm annual rainfall
• 75-80% relative

PREPARATION OF PLANTING MATERIALS:

• Select only plump and well-developed seeds.
• Carefully remove the flesh adhering the seed.
• Germinate the seeds in light loamy soils or in germination beds with sawdust.
• Germinated seedling are ready for potting in 8” x 11” x 0.003 plastic bag when the first pair leaves have appear.
• At 12-18 months from pricking the rootstocks are ready for asexual propagation.
• At 6-12 months after grafting, the asexually propagated plants are ready for field planting.
• Rebagging should be done when polyethylene bag becomes brittle.
• Rear seedlings under a nursery shade allowing full recovery of the plants prior to field planting.

LAND PREPARATION:

• Clear/underbrush the whole area.
• Plow and harrow to loosen the soil.
• Plant temporary shade (ipil-ipil, madre de cacao or banana) before field planting.
• Stake a distance of 5 m between hills and 5 m between rows.
• Prepare holes 25 cm in diameter at a depth of 25 cm or big enough to accommodate the ball of soil supporting the bagged plants.

PLANTING:

• Apply basally, 50-100 gm of complete fertilizer (14-14-14) or ammophos (16-20-0).
• Remove the plastic bag and plant the seedling into the prepared hole.
• Cover the hole with top soil and press gently.
• Water immediately after planting.

CARE AND MANAGEMENT:

1. Ring weeding should be done when necessary.

2. Shallow cultivation of the plant to a radius of at least 1 m should be done twice a year or as the need arises.

3. Mulch the tree with coconut husks or grasses to conserve soil moisture.

4. Pruning

• Judicious pruning should be done during the dry season.
• Cut surfaces should be applied with copper fungicides.
• Start pruning when the plants is 1.5 m tall.
• Decapitate the apical shoot to a height of 1 m to induce formation of secondary stems and bend the stems outward to promote good branching.
• When the plants are matured, prune every after harvest to remove diseased and weak branches, and shoots which grow parallel to secondary stem.

5. Flower thinning

• Remove excess cluster of flowers that emerge in tertiary and small branches, short clusters (less than 3 inches) and overcrowded clusters to prevent deformities in fruits.

6. Fertilization

Fertilization Schedule:
Plant Age or Stage / Kind of Fertilizer / Rate/Plant

• Vegetative stage / Ammonium Sulfate / (21-0-0) or Urea (46-0-0) 100-200 gm/tree/year
• Bearing stage /  Complete Fertilizer / (14-14-14) 5-8 kgs/tree/year (after harvest)

Drill or broadcast the fertilizer 1 m away from the base of the plant depending upon the topography of the land.

PESTS AND DISEASES:

• threat to the industry
• retard the growth of trees
• reduced both quality and quantity
• reduce yield

Insects Pests of Lanzones

1. Bark Borer

• Serious pest of lanzones
• Bark infestation suppresses flower emergence and reduces yield

a. Proxinonena sp.

• Injurious among species
• Feeds on bark and cambium layer
• Produce a scaly bark

b. Cossus sp.

• Mines under the bark by feeding on it and secretes a web that form a tunnel.
• Infestation occurs at the crevices between branches.
• Infestation in old trees.

c. Gold-banded Moth

• Larvae predominant on the terminal twigs.
• Dark blister-like appearance indicative of its infestation.
• It penetrates the cambium layer of the twigs.
• Scraping-off of infested bark is harder than Proxinonena sp.

2. Twig Borer (Cerambycid Beetle) – The larva bore into the stem or twig of the lanzones trees resulting in the death of plant tissue. To Control, damage plant parts must be pruned and burned.

Pest Control

1. Mechanical Method – Scraping and pruning infested portions.
2. Chemical Method – Application of insecticide after mechanical operations in knocking out the borer.

Diseases

1. Root Rot

• This fungus disease attacks trees in areas with waterlogged condition.
• Infection starts at lateral roots and moves towards the main root up to the base of the trunk.
• Externally the leaves turn yellow and gradually fall-off.

Control:

• Provide good drainage
• Digging and burning of dead trees
• Treat infected roots and trunk with fungicides

2. Scab

• Serious disease affecting the Longkong variety of lanzones.
• Exhibited by bulging of the bark.

Control: Spray Copper Hydroxide(Kocide) or Copper Oxychloride)

HARVESTING:

• Harvest the fruits 140-150 days from flower formation to fruit ripening.• Do the harvesting early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
• Harvest the fruits by climbing the tree and cut the ripe bunches with sharp cutters or pruning shears.

Post Harvest Handling

• sort, clean, air dry and grade the harvested fruits.
• pack the fruits in cartons or crates with liners or cushion to reduce damage during handling.
• store the fruits in cold storage at 10°C with relative humidity of 85-90 % to extend the shelf-life of the harvested fruits.

Source: hvcc.da.gov.ph; Photos: wikipedia.com and flickr.com