by Pratiksha Ramkumar, The Times of India
The phones at Kallar Garden, run by the Nilgiris Horticulture Department, have been ringing non-stop for the past two months. It is that time of the year when people rush to this garden to get their hands on one precious durian fruit.
The fruit season, which is coming to an end, saw the garden produce the highest number of durians in the past four years. This year, the durian tree at the garden has produced 180 fruits in the last 45 days. This tops the 140 fruits produced in 2014, 66 in 2013 and 120 in 2012. “The tree in Kallar yields fruits once a year between February and March,” said officials at the garden.
Despite being a tropical fruit, the durian, which is native to Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, was also found growing in Burliar in the early 1900s, says horticulture officer A Chitra. “It was from there that a few seeds were collected and planted when Kallar Garden was set up. One of them successfully grew into a tree which is close to 80ft tall,” she said. Though the garden has six durian trees, only the old one planted eighty years ago bears fruit. “The other five durian trees are still too young and short to bear fruit,” said the officer. The garden has many other fruit trees like mangosteen, jackfruit, guava and mango. The Burliar Horticulture Garden also has durian trees which yield fruits during June-July, but buying the fruit is difficult because they are sold through government tenders.
The fruitis believed to cure infertility among womenthough the claim has not been scientifically proven.
However, the belief has created an unprecedented demand for durian fruit from across the state and neighbouring states. “We get phone calls from people in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Pune and Delhi asking us if the fruit is available,” said a staff at the horticulture garden. The garden either floats a tender to sell the fruits, or sells them to individuals visiting the garden at 400 per kg. “Shops which take tenders and collect a few fruits from the Burliar garden sell it at 900 a kg,” said Chitra.
Close to 400 families come here directly, asking for the fruit. If it is unavailable, they ask the officials to contact them when the next fruit drops. The garden staff collect only the fruits which fall. They never pluck from the tree. “People are free to plant the tree at their residence by buying the seeds from us,” said a senior horticulture officer.
Source: Times of India