Friday, February 02, 2018

Durian Asfa 50 is a hoax



This morning I met two durian experts in the Raub-Bentong area of Pahang to ask about Durian  Asfa 50, of which many photos are being passed around on What’s App. They both say, independently, that Asfa 50 is a hoax. The pictures belong to three separate varieties. The pictures that show deeply furrowed fruits, with many fruits on the tree, are Montong, a Thai cultivar that is very productive but not very tasty.  The fruits that are not furrowed and showing only one or two fruits on the tree is Black Thorn; this has best taste by low productivity. The intermediate one with shallow furrows and moderate number of fruits is Durian King. Even the leaves are different, to the eyes of experts. You can buy grafted plants of Durian King for RM15, and Black Thorn for RM35.