Rambutan Cultivation (Full Guide)

Introduction

in this article, I’m going to tell you about the Rambutan Cultivation

Botany of the plant

• Botanical name: Nephelium lappaceum
• Family: Sapindaceae
• Origin; Malaysia and Indonesia
• Tropical fruiting trees
• Rambutan is a very tasty and beautiful fruit
• Their outer rinds are covered with soft pliable, hairy, spines and hence acquired the name ‘but’ in Malay

Nutritional Value

• Water                  82g
• Energy                 64k/salary
• Protein                1g
• Fat                        0.1g
• Carbohydrates   16.5g
• Calcium               20mg
• Phosphorus        15mg
• C vitamin             53mg
• Fiber                     3g
• Niacin                   0.4mg

Description

• Rambutan trees can grow up to 25m tall if not pruned.
• Have a straight trunk and a dense crown. The leaves are dark green.
• Flowers can be male, female or hermaphrodite.
• The fruit is oval-shaped and golf ball-sized.it can be pinkish-red or yellow within a thin leathery rind coward in soft spines called the spin turn. 

Health benefits

• Most healthy diets include plenty of fruit,
• It has the ability to absorb iron and helps create younger-looking skin.
• Copper acids with red blood cell production and helps maintain healthy bones, nerves, and blood vessels.
• Help control heart and blood pressure.
• It saves natural antiaging therapy.

Cultivation

Preferred Climate and Soil

• Elevation: up to 500m 600m above sea level.
• Rainfall: evenly distributed 1500-2000mm
• Temperature: 27-30°c
• Humidity: 75/.- 80/.
• Well, drained sandy loam soil.
• PH: 4.5 – 6.5
• Soil depth: 2-3m 

Recommended varieties

• Mainly 3 varieties recommended
  • Malwana 1^st selection[malwana special]
  • Malayan red
  • Malayan yellow

Malwna special

• Orangish red colour. Round in shape.
• Weight of one fruit 40-50g
• Flesh and very tasty fruit.
• Easy to remove the flesh.
• High juice content.
• Can store 3 days after harvesting.
• Suitable for commercial cultivation.

Malayan red

• Light red in colour.
• Oval shape fruit.
• Weight of one fruit 28-35g.
• Easy to remove the flesh.
• Juice content is the middle level.
• Can store 3 days after harvesting

Malayan yellow

• Fruits are yellow in colour.
• Weight of one fruit 30-38g.
• Easy to remove the flesh.
• Very testy and high juice content.
• Can store 1day only after harvesting.
• This variety is most susceptible to mealybug damage.

Propagation

• Rambuttan can be grown from seed or by vegetative propagation.

Spacing

• 10m-10m ; 100 plants/ha
• 10m-08m ; 125 plants/ha

Chemical Fertilizer Application

	Urea g/plant	Rock phosphate	MOP	Kieserite
BD (2 days before planting)	120	225	100
1st year	40	75	40
2nd year	80	150	80
3rd year	110	225	110

For bearing plants

• From 4^th year to 7^th year

	Urea g/plant	Rock phosphate	MOP	Kieserite
After every harvesting time	450	550	260	100
After every harvesting time	150	550	260

• From 8^th year

	Urea g/plant	Rock phosphate	MOP	Kieserite
After every harvesting time	600	750	350	100
After every harvesting time	200	750	350

Pests and Diseases

Pests

Major pests of Rambutan

• Stem borer
• Fruit borer
• Fruit weber
• Mealybug
• Fruit fly
• Leaf folder

Higher animals

• Bats
• Birds
• Monkeys
• squirrels

Fruit Borer

• This damage can occur in the fruit ripening stage.
• Damage is done by larvae.
• They damaged the flesh of the fruit.

Control

• Field sanitation and field observation.
• Covering of fruits.

Fruit fly

• They damage to the flesh of the fruit  and it becomes hafly juice.

 Control

• Can be controlled by using the IPM method.
• Damage fruits should be collected into black polythene and seal, after expose to the sunlight.
• Covering of fruits and use pheromone trap.

Mealybug

• It reduces the quality of fruits.
• Decrease marketing demand.
• They are spreading by ants.

Control

•  should do proper pruning after harvesting.
• To avoid spreading through the ants, cover the stem with polythene strips which grease is applied. 

Higher animals

• Some higher animals such as birds ,monkeys, squirrels are damaging rambutan cultivation.
• Control
• Use light traps and sound producing equipments.
• Small trees can be covered with a net.

Disease of Rambutan Cultivation            

• Fruit rot
• Powdery mildew
• Sooty mold
• Leaf spot

Disorders of fruits

• Pocket Rambutan
• Splitting of fruits

Powdery mildew

• Usually infect to the immature leaves , flowers , and fruits.
• The peal of infected fruits become black color and dry off,when maturing peal is cracking.

Control

• Do proper pruning .
• Field observation and distroye infected plant parts.
• Chemical control by apply sulper mix solution.

Harvesting

Fruit Season

• Rambutan produce fruit from October –mid-January
• Rambutan must be harvested when ripening
• This is usually 2 or 3 weeks after the colour is changing
• Fruits can be harvested with hand or picking by a pole from the ground

Grading, processing and storage

• Should be select well matured quality fruits
• Remove pest damaged and disease infected fruits
• Selected fruits pack in plastic crates and rambutan leaves are used to reduce the damages

 Storage

• rambutan should be cooled with water after picking and stored at 8-10 °c in humid condition

check out my other article:How to Grow Masan (Full Guide)