Orange farm in Phuket

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• published: 06 Mar 2010
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Having worked in many fields, Peerapong Pongchaidej, a native of Yala, decided to relocate himself to Phuket and try out growing oranges. He grows oranges on his 9 rai plot of land near the Khao Prataew foothill in Paklok, northeast of Phuket. It took him over 10 years of trial and error. Some years were fruitful, and other years not. He has around 400 trees. Not until last year, he finally learnt what he describes as the right way to grow oranges and that he now has had a fruitful year. Since December, he is able to harvest at least 120 kilograms of oranges per day. The farm price is 50 baht per kilogram for a bigger sized oranges and 35 baht per kilogram for smaller sized ones. It had never been successful, no fruits, no harvest and I almost gave up as the trees started to die and I was about to pull them out. One day I met a scholar who suggested to me how to farm an orchard which included how to set the production cost. He told me all the measures. I then began to do my own compost which helps save 40-50% of my cost. During festivals I need to pick around 500-600 kilograms of fruits to supply the market. Clients usually place orders by phone and I deliver the fruits in the afternoon. Perapong Pongchaidej / orchard farmer Contact: 089 7262803 Perapong also stressed that the texture of his oranges are different was they tend to be sweeter rather than sour. He guaruntees that all his oranges are of the same standard and taste. The oranges have quite a unique taste with an orange - reddish color in texture. Perapong Pongchaidej / orchard farmer . Another secret for farming is that Perapong pays attention and takes care of the farm himself. He stresses that appropriate amounts of water and fertilizer are the main factors. He waters the trees with Springer?? 5 minutes daily while the earths moisture is maintained by leftover grass and weed. He sprays the leaves with organic fertilizer at night. He reveals that the soil condition in Phuket is suitable for an orange plantation. I think Phuket is a good location for an orange orchard. The climate probably plays a major role. Here where my farm is located, the weather changes everyday as its on the foothill with a waterfall and canal nearby. Its very hot during the day, but quickly cools down after six PM. And its cool at night. Perapong Pongchaidej / orchard farmer Continually thinking of how to improve the quality of his oranges, Perapong plans to find ways to improve the look of his orange skins so they look more appealing. The main point here is, this man believes in himself. After years of experience in running his own garage, being a tour guide, a manager of a travel agency, and despite having only a primary school level education, at the age of 57, Perapong is now happy with his orchard farm in Phuket! weekly Andaman News NBT TV (VHF dial) at 8.30am & repeated on satellite C Band (usually net black) frequency 4134 Mhz at symbolate 2530 at 1pm & perhaps repeats on Phuket Cable TV channel 1 at 3.30pm, 7pm, 1.30am & 6.30am, broadcast to Phang Nga, Krabi & Phuket provinces , Friday 5th March 2010 & http://thainews.prd.go.th/newsenglish/ & www.YouTube.com/AndamanNews Send comments to AndamanNews@yahoo.com