Thai favourites, including durian and tangerine species, are disappearing due to urbanisation and industralisation
Thailand is known as a paradise for tropical fruit lovers since the country boasts various kinds of fruit available all year round.
Some of the favourites, to name but a few, include rambutan, mangosteen, mango, orange, pineapple, guava, watermelon, papaya and durian.
But this country's tasty reputation may soon take a hit as several species of fruit have been vanishing.
Take for instance, durian non, which are durians grown in Nonthaburi province, and som bang mod, which is a type of tangerine grown in Bangkok's Bang Mod area of Thung Kru district.
Both fruits were once common here, but urbanisation and industrial development has converted land once used to grow durian and tangerine into plots for highways, factories and housing estates.
Nonthaburi, located near Bangkok, is one of the country's most suitable sites for fruit plantations as it is situated on the Chao Phraya River, which delivers important sediment to the local soil.
Durian is not a fruit native to Thailand, and is believed to have been introduced here from some other Southeast Asian nation.
Records suggest the first durian trees were planted in Nonthaburi about 200 years ago by a local who bought durian seeds from the south.
Nonthaburi's weather and soil proved to be a hospitable environment and many residents became durian planters and developed a reputation for their ability to grow unique varieties. Durian from Nonthaburi is known to be sweet, creamy and delicious.
However, agriculture authorities say durian orchards in the province have been vanishing since 1995, mainly due to urbanisation.
Since then, locals and the authorities have tried to preserve the remaining orchards and revive the traditional wisdom of durian-growing.
The campaign, while boosting public awareness about the fruit, hit a snag in 2011 when hundreds of rai of durian orchard in Nonthaburi were ruined by the flood.
Facing massive tree losses from the flood, many farmers opted to stop farming the fruit altogether.
Over time, the Nonthaburi durian has become increasingly rare and thus more expensive. Its price has reportedly jumped recently to about 10,000 baht per fruit.
Bang Mod tangerine, famous for its sweetness and juiciness, has faced a similar demise.
The number of tangerine plantations in Bang Mod area has also been decreasing over the past 50 years due to similar urbanisation effects as well as seawater intrusion. Much of the soil in the area has become too salty to grow the fruit.
Chanthana Sathoop, a teacher at Bangpakok-witthayakom School in Bang Mod, runs the local tangerine conservation project. She said tangerine plantations started to vanish from the area after the 1983 flood.
Some farmers, she said, decided to move their plantations to Rangsit in Pathum Thani province, but the taste and quality of the Pathum Thani-grown tangerine didn't measure up to the fruit from Bang Mod.
"There is only one original Bang Mod tangerine orchard left in our community now, and the owner is thinking about giving up because the business is not going well," she said.
Nonthaburi durian and Bang Mod tangerine appear to be in their twilight and may disappear entirely if nothing is done to preserve the fruits and to support the farmers.
