Buy your own seedlings for "durian freedom"? Don't be fooled!

Durian is one of the hottest imported fruits in the market right now. The first batch of durians in Hainan has successfully borne fruit, and the news that it is expected to mature and go on the market in May has made the "foodies" even more excited, and inspired many people to plant durian trees at home to realize the dream of "durian freedom".

"Durian can also be planted in Guangdong", "grafted durian seedlings can be planted in the north and south", "planted in the year and hung fruit in the year"...... Since the beginning of this year, many businesses have promoted hype on online platforms to attract consumers to buy durian seedlings. Some merchants also claim that "no 7-day return without reason" and "no compensation for planting death".

"This is an 'irresponsible' seedling selling scam set up by merchants." Some industry insiders said. Another fruit tree expert emphasized in an interview with a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News that durian is a tropical fruit, and if the temperature difference is too large or the temperature is lower than 6 °C, there will be serious frost damage, and the seedlings will either die or cannot bloom and bear fruit. Guangdong grows durian, wintering is a problem, the north can be planted is even more nonsense, at present, only a few cities and counties in Hainan have successfully hung fruit after planting.

boasting that both the north and the south can be planted, and the merchants attract traffic and engage in sales

The reporter searched on a video network platform and found that there are many businesses selling durian seedlings, and in the sales video they presented, the durian tree is "knotted" with dense golden durian.

The sales pitch in the video is almost the same-

"Is durian expensive? Plant a tree and eat it until you vomit, and the golden pillow durian medium seedlings are planted and bear fruit in the same year. ”

"I don't pick the climate, I don't pick the soil, I don't need to graft, and the results are fast."

"Improved durian seedlings can be planted in both the north and south, with soil balls that bear fruit in the same year, cold and frost resistant, watering can live, and the Great Northeast can also be planted."

"The new variety of durian has a delicate and sweet taste, no matter whether it is planted in a pot or in the ground, it can grow at any time and live at any time, and it can thrive ......"

Many people have a hot mind, buy durian seedlings online, and start growing durians. The reporter browsed the durian seedling promotion videos of relevant businesses in detail and found that most of the attention, comments, and sales of these merchants were good. A merchant has nearly 200,000 followers, and there are more than 2,000 comments under the video of "durian seedlings are planted and bear fruit in the year".

"The fourth generation of domestic durian grafted fruit trees, hanging fruit that year, 1980 yuan a ......" On an online video platform, an advertising video shot by a fruit tree dealer attracted the attention of reporters. The reporter followed the link to enter the dealer's store and asked the customer service staff about "whether durian seedlings can be planted in Meizhou". The customer service staff did not give a positive reply to this, but only said: "You can only buy if you plant, and you will not pay for planting if you die." ”

Immediately afterwards, the reporter asked: "Can you see the pictures of fruit trees that bear fruit?" The customer service staff replied: "No, only seedlings are sold." However, even so, the reporter found that the sales link of nearly 2,000 yuan a durian sapling showed that 97 people had placed orders.

"There are indeed many scammers selling fake seedlings online, and I have bought many fake seedlings since 2018." Deng Yuqiang, a grower in Maoming, Guangdong Province, began to try to plant durian in 2018, and he admitted that it is not easy to grow durian, and only a few places can be planted.

Some people have a bad review of "can't be raised", and some people feed star fruit

On May 16, a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News searched for "durian seedlings" on the online shopping platform and found that the price of durian seedlings is very different, some are 20 yuan to 40 yuan a tree, some are 2000 yuan to 5000 yuan a tree, and most of them are 100 yuan to 400 yuan a tree. According to industry insiders, the profit of durian seedlings is several times, or even hundreds of times, that of ordinary seedlings.

"Grafted durian seedlings, 60-80 cm high, shipped with soil and leaves, 206 yuan per plant." A merchant on an online shopping platform told reporters that fruit seedlings that are more than 3 years old can bear fruit the next year, and if the conditions are not suitable, they will be a year late. However, the customer service said that after purchase, "7 days no reason to return is not supported".

The reporter checked the buyer's evaluation in the store and noticed that there were many bad reviews. A consumer commented after 81 days of purchase: "The survival rate after purchase is 0, and it costs more than 200 yuan to buy two trees, and they all die." Another consumer commented after 22 days of purchase: "I can't live, I received the goods and found that there were dark purple spots at 5 cm up the graft interface, and the leaves fell off after 3 days, and the graft joint was dried up in less than 10 days." Some people even left a message: "It's a real seedling, it can't be raised at all, don't be deceived." ”

"Because durian is more expensive, I want to buy a durian tree in the hope of self-sufficiency, I bought a single fake seedling twice, but the third time I bought it here is still fake, the leaves grow round, and soon die...... "Some netizens commented in another store that sells durian seedlings.

Some netizens reported that the seedlings were sent from the north, without leaves, and were bare. Many people also said that they spent thousands of yuan to buy durian seedlings but couldn't raise them, and they felt that they had been wronged. Some netizens in Guangxi posted a video saying that the durian seedlings bought for more than 2,000 yuan fell off in an uproar not long after they were planted.

However, some netizens said that the "durian seedlings" they bought were fed, but these seedlings did not bear durian, but star fruit, pomegranate, etc. A reporter from Yangcheng Evening News combed through the sharing and messages of netizens and found that many people planted "durian seedlings" with hope, and only found that the goods were not right after the seedlings grew up. There are all kinds of seedlings that everyone buys, including jackfruit trees, green trees, smiling seedlings, lychee seedlings, chestnuts, olive seedlings, jujube seedlings, mulberry seedlings, etc., but they are not durian seedlings.

For example, a netizen shared: "A friend from the north said that his durian tree grew fruit with a five-pointed star, and asked me if the durian was a five-pointed star?" Many netizens replied: "This is durian, I know it's star fruit when I close my eyes." Another netizen said: "I happily planted it." Take care of it and drench it every day. Three years have passed, and the durian tree has actually grown a bunch of small red flowers. ”

It is difficult to produce durian domestically, and it is even more unrealistic to grow it yourself

In view of the current chaotic durian seedling market, some industry insiders pointed out that durian trees bear fruit for less than five or six years or more than ten years, and it is difficult for netizens to distinguish between real and fake after buying seedlings. Even if some people buy real durian seedlings, they are real seedlings that will not bloom and bear fruit for more than ten or twenty years.

Why are seedlings bad? Some industry insiders said that he used a durian seed to raise a seedling many years ago, and it has grown into a durian tree and borne fruit without grafting and improvement. However, the skin is thick, rough and mottled, and each piece of flesh is only two thumbs large, and the taste is particularly poor.

"Usually this kind of seedlings are more cold-tolerant and can grow in some areas, but there are few flowers and fruits, and the fruits are also very deformed, which is difficult to swallow." The person said, "Most of the seedlings that can't hang fruit or have a very poor taste after hanging fruit are seedlings." ”

"At present, in the mainland, only Sanya, Ledong Li and other cities and counties in Hainan Province are planted on a small scale and on a small scale, and durians with a good sense of export are produced. Chen Jiezhong, a professor at the College of Horticulture of South China Agricultural University, said in an interview with a reporter from Yangcheng Evening News that merchants advocate that "Guangdong can also grow durian", "grafted durian seedlings can be planted in the north and south", "planting and hanging fruit in the year", etc., may be for selling seedlings and frying seedlings.

Chen Jiezhong has studied the promotion and application of high-quality durian fruit trees at home and abroad for decades, and is very concerned about whether durian can be grown in Guangdong, and has personally practiced it. He told reporters that he has a fruit tree research and planting base in Yangqing Town, Suixi County, Zhanjiang, and has bought several batches of durian seedlings for planting in the past few years. But in winter, even if the film was covered and the work was done to keep warm, not a single sapling survived, "all of them froze to death, and they couldn't be planted at all." ”

"The climate in Zhanjiang is somewhat similar to Hainan, where jackfruit grows well, but durian cultivation is still unsuccessful." Chen Jiezhong said.

Chen Jiezhong further said that durian is a tropical fruit, and its cold tolerance is much worse than that of jackfruit, and when the temperature is lower than 6 °C in winter, there will be serious frost damage. In the mainland, if there is no hotter climate than Hainan, it is impossible to grow durian trees outdoors.

Another industry insider pointed out that in fact, ordinary people do not need to be in a hurry to spend money to buy seedlings to plant durian, and powerful planting companies can try to improve high-quality domestic durian varieties.

Source: Yangcheng Evening News