tagabungtod

It is amazing to see cross-bred durians nowadays growing as big as the one in the picture. Placed on a scale it weighed almost 15 kilos! They call this the Puyat variety. This is one of the most sought after kind of durian because of its eating quality: thick meat, small seeds. At about this time it sells for P60.00 a kilo. But it is not as popular as the Arancillo and Montong variety which command a good price (higher by about P10.00/kilo). The Arancillo variety for example is a big improvement from the native variety in that---while it has retained the bittersweet creamy taste---the fruit is bigger, the meat is, again, thicker and the seeds much, much smaller. Last year's fruit harvest was so abundant that durian of this kind costs only P25/kilo.

It seems the fruit farmers are going to see bad times this year. The yield of fruits is unexpectedly low hence the higher price. This is true for the other fruits like lanzones, rambutan and mangosteen the abundance of which come at about this time of the year. I asked a friend last night how his fruit farm is doing and with a gloomy face he told me: "Nada!!" Blame it on the constantly changing weather. This summer, which was supposed to be the flowering time for the fruit trees, it rained almost everyday!

Our farmers in Nabunturan will be greatly affected by the portent of things to come especially because our town has been a major fruit producer in the region. During the past seasons, when you go searching for sweet and delicious lanzones in the city, the tindera would most likely do her sales pitch by telling you: "kani, sigurado tam-is gyud ni, pero mahal lang gamay kay Nabunturan man ni nga lanzones." You go to Bankerohan and you buy kalamansi or lemonsito and you will notice very good-looking calamansi sold at higher prices. You ask why and the answer is: "kay Nabunturan man ni gikan." Our fruit production is a big source of pride for us tagabungtod. Kilig kaayo paminawon.

Durian is also one major product coming from Nabunturan. During our town fiesta, October 3, you can feast not only on lechon but durian as well (Warning: a double-cholesterol treat). For that to happen, hope and pray that this year will be a fairly good year for our farmers.