UGM researcher has succeeded in cultivating a superior variety of longan fruit, namely Sleman Longan Super.
“The superiority of this Sleman Longan Super has characteristics with relatively bigger fruit size with dense flesh and small seeds,” said the researcher of Sleman Longan Super from the UGM Faculty of Biology, Prof. Budi S Daryono, S.Si., M.Agr.Sc., on Thursday (4/2).
Either shore or medium lands with an altitude of about 700 above sea level is considered a potential area to cultivate longan. Not only that, longan, as a cultivation result from Budi and Yusuf Sulaiman, S.IP., can also be planted in karst fields.
Budi revealed that since 2015, his party had cultivated longan fruit. Longan is a cross result between KD longan and LD longan. Meanwhile, local longan is used for the base of the cuttings.
Furthermore, this variety of longan has a sweet taste that contains sugar of 22-23 Brix. The weight of the fruit reaches 9.74-10 grams. The seed diameter is 1.1-1.3 cm, and the seed weight is 0.96-1.53 grams.
Budi added this variety of Sleman Longan Super could yield fruit all the time. In other words, it won’t be affected by the fruit season by supplying phytohormone / POC induction for flowering fertilization. A two-year-old longan tree can bear fruits up to 2-4 kg and a three-year-old three can bear 4-6 kg fruits in one harvest period.
“After 4-year-old, the tree will bear fruit up to 10-25 kg/tree depending on the number of its flourishing and pollination into fruit,” explained the Dean of the UGM Faculty of Biology.
This Sleman Longan Super has a large market potential to be cultivated. The community that the UGM Faculty of Biology has once guided has also cultivated this variety for a long time. They cultivated this variety of fruit in Condongcatur Sleman Yogyakarta, Kemadang Gunungkidul, Hargowilis KulonProgo, and Balikpapan, East Kalimantan.
Author: Ika
Translator: Natasa A