HISTORY OF DURIAN IN THAILAND Origin of durian History of the name durian History of durian cultivation in Thailand 1. The earliest story of durian in Thailand is in a chronicle recorded by a Frenchman named De La Loubere over 300 years ago. De La Loubere came to Thailand in 1687 during the Ayutthaya period in the reign of King Narai the Great. He mentions the cultivation of durian in the central region of Thailand during this time. It is presumed that its original growing area was in the South which has the same climate as Malaysia. 2. When durians were introduced to the central region during the Ayutthaya period, the strains were regularly improved as the country and the Thai social system promoted and partly forced everyone to improve his crop. It is known that in the past there was a duty collected on durian. Until the Rattanakosin period, durian was an important crop in Thonburi Province, part of Bangkok Metropolis now, and spread to Nonthaburi Province. The keeping and growing were systematic with constant improvement, so durian in Thonburi and Nonthaburi were mostly of good varieties. 3. However, many good varieties were wiped out during the heavy flood of Bangkok, Thonburi and Nonthaburi in 1875 and 1942. Durian trees were destroyed and scarcely replanted. Growing urbanization saw the felling of durian orchards for construction of buildings and roads. 4. When transportation among the provinces became more convenient, there was construction of roads linking the central part with other regions. It spread the good durians to Chanthaburi Province in the eastern part replacing the local varieties. The replanting of local-poor varieties to superior varieties from Bangkok began commercially from 1957. Durians in Chanthaburi were a success and grew much faster until it is now the leading province for durian production. The plantations spread to nearby province such as Rayong, Trat and Prachin Buri provinces. 5. During 1962-1963 a number of durian strains from Thonburi and Nonthaburi were introduced to the South replacing the local varieties destroyed by a hurricane in 1952. The promotion of cultivation of good durians in the South was continuous, and the best and most successful one is Monthong. 6. Nowadays, the major growing areas are in the East seconded by the South. The central region still plants them in the original area, but the cultivation is nominal. In the northern region, the local variety is grown in Uttaradit Province. The greatness of durian in the past Special thanks to Mr. Piroj Polprasid for the information on the history of durian cultivation in Thailand.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 11:13:18 +0000
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