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Fruit growing guide
Salak is a spiny, clumping palm of the humid tropics. Its seed dies within about two weeks of leaving the fruit, so sow it fresh in moist shade and it sprouts within days.
Salak seed is recalcitrant: it cannot survive drying or storage. In PROSEA's figures germination fell to 55% one week after the seed was taken from the fruit and to zero after two weeks. Sow on the day the seed arrives, and keep it moist until then.
Not needed. Fresh kernels take up water and sprout readily.
Not needed. Cold harms this tropical palm.
Not needed. Rinse off any remaining flesh and sow straight away into moist mix.
Warm, humid tropical conditions. In cooler climates use a heated, enclosed propagator; the palm has no frost tolerance.
Fresh seed sprouts even when lying on moist soil. Covering lightly keeps it from drying; in plantations 2-5 seeds go into one hole about 5 cm (2 in) deep.
A moist, humus-rich mix. In the field salak needs soil that stays moist for most of the year, with a high water table, but it does not tolerate flooding.
Keep the seeds and mix moist at all times. Even a short dry spell kills the seed.
Germinate and grow seedlings in shade.
Fresh seed sprouts in under a week. Growth after that is slow: the first full leaf, 20-30 cm (8-12 in) long, opens 60-90 days after sowing.
Move nursery seedlings to the field in the rainy season, at a few months old. Plantations space palms from under 2 m to 6 m (6-20 ft) apart.
Plant under shade trees or shade netting. Keep the shade heavy for the first year, then thin it gradually; good feeding reduces the need for shade.
Salak roots are shallow, so water in dry spells and mulch to keep the surface moist. Wear thick gloves: the leaf stalks are covered in long spines.
Salak suits wet tropical lowlands. Main growing areas receive 1,700-3,100 mm (67-122 in) of rain a year, and in Java yield and quality decline above 500 m. In drier regions it needs shade and regular irrigation.
Palms start flowering 3-4 years after sowing, and fruits ripen 5-7 months after pollination.
Ripe fruit has reddish-brown scales and sweet flesh; unripe fruit is sour and astringent. Each fruit usually holds three seeds.
Seedlings differ from the parent palm in fruit quality, and you cannot tell male from female until they flower, so raise more seedlings than you need. Indonesia alone has many local types, including seedless and both-sexes forms.
Sow salak seed the day it arrives, in moist shade, for quick germination.
Most likely they dried out or were too old. Salak seed loses viability within about two weeks of leaving the fruit and cannot be stored dry.
Usually yes. Most palms are either male or female, so grow several seedlings or hand pollinate. The Bali type carries both sexes on one palm.
Young palms burn in full sun and need heavy shade for about a year. Older palms tolerate more light if they are well fed and watered.