Protemp Group of Companies

MOST people sigh in disappointment at the sight of worms intheir durians but for the Choi family, these wriggly wonders have saved their orchard’s fruits.

While durian lovers shriek at the sight of worms that spoil the flesh of the fruit, Choi Yu Nen, 22, uses worms to improve his harvest and the taste of the fruits.

“Of course, the worms that destroy the fruit are different from the worms we use at the orchard.

“The flesh of our durians used to be quite hard and not very tasty.

“More than a year ago, I started using the African Night Crawler worms to make vermicompost for the orchard and the quality of fruits this season has improved significantly.

“I guess you could say that these worms saved our orchard,” he said when met at his family’s 0.6ha orchard in Teluk Kumbar, Penang, yesterday.

The 22-year-old biotechnology degree holder said he learnt about vermiculture when interning at the Penang Botanic Gardens before graduating.

Vermiculture is a method of composting by breeding a species of earthworms.

“Since I was a child growing up in the orchard, I have always had a passion for agriculture.

“When I found out about vermiculture, I decided to experiment and see if I could do something positive for our orchard.

“I invested RM3,000 to import the worms from Thailand to produce compost for the durian trees and I’m really happy with the results,” hesaid.              

Choi said his dream was to one day produce affordable organic fruits and vegetables commercially.

“I do sell my vermicompost on a small scale but ultimately, my goal is to produce organic fruits that are healthy and affordable.

“We have another 0.4ha orchard in Sungai Batu and I am hoping toplant some lime trees there while expanding my vermiculture operation.

“We now have mangosteen, langsat, papaya, banana, petai and pineapple at the orchard and I am using vermicompost for these plants too,” hesaid.

His mother S.E. Koay, 54, said the family did not sell the fruits commercially as the trees did not produce enough.

“If the vermicompost can produce a higher yield of quality fruits, we will consider doing so.

“All this while, visitors to our orchard are family friends. We usually just give the fruits away,” she said, adding that the family did not use pesticides in the orchard.

“Before my son started making vermicompost, we used everything from fish intestines to rotting vegetables to fertilise the trees but worm waste has proven to be the most effective,” she said.

Koay said although the family had no plans to commercialise the orchard, group visits could be arranged.

“I am here everyday so I don’t mind taking people around during the durian season.

“We are not profit-orientated — this is just a small family orchard but we do welcome visitors.

“Before I got married, I was a city girl and had never been to an orchard. The minute I saw it, I just fell in love with the greenery.Children, especially those living in towns, should have an opportunity to see what it’s like,” she said.

Those interested to visit the orchard can call Koay at 016-4870378.

Be warned though, the trail is quite steep and do make sure you are dressed appropriately as the mosquitoes there tend to be a tad “too friendly”!