Tiaong Rambutan Festival - Most Enjoyable, Educational

     The festival was most enjoyable because the attendees who came in all ages, from far and near, had the opportunity to pick from the heavily laden trees juicy and sweet rambutan fruits. Even more enjoyable, of course, was the fact that they could eat all the fruits they cared to eat without having to pay for them. Of course, there was a modest entrance fee of P100 in exchange fro a pack-lunch of Pampango adobo and fruit juice.

sisters. Like a girl named Hannah, for instance. She could harvest all she cared to eat because many of the fruits were virtually touching the ground.

     The rambutan festival was also an occasion for employers to go out with their employees as a group. Like the Wonder Workers Group of Roger and Anne Collantes, for instance. Everybody, to the last employee of the company, was there to enjoy harvesting and eating Rongrein and R162 rambutan, two imported varieties with superior taste.

     Among the earliest arrival was the group of Councilor Ed Reyes of Nagcarlan, Laguna, who purposely arrived ahead of the other visitors so they could listen to a lecture on fruit growing by Bernie Dizon, the consultant of Atty. Lazatin.

     Of course, the other participants also had their own lecture and demo session with Bernie Dizon and the farm owner. Atty. Lazatin gave useful pointers for those who would like to put up their own fruit farms.

     He stressed that the first thing to do is to plant the right variety. Then plant the trees the right way and provide them with the right management. When you are starting a fairly big farm, he said, it pays to use a backhoe not only to dig the holes for planting but to dig drainage canals. He emphasized that if there is no adequate drainage, the trees could succumb to root rot or some other diseases brought about by waterlogging.

     He also emphasized that seedlings should be spaced properly. He himself said that he was guilty of planting his trees to closely. Rambutan, he said, should be planted about 8-10 meters apart so they will not be overcrowded. Now he has to eliminate some of his trees, a chore that could be emotionally draining.

     Bernie Dizon, Atty. Lazatin's consultant, demonstrated how to prune the trees. The branches that don't receive any sunlight are removed because they are useless. He also demonstrated how to graft and how to produce double rootstock planting materials. Almost all the fruit trees of Atty. Lazatin have double rootstock. They have been proven to be faster growing, earlier maturing and are more resistant to strong winds. His five-year old rambutan with double rootstock already produce as much 50 kilos of fruit.

     This year's participants in the rambutan festival were more than double then 200 or so attendees last year. Next year, the attendees could even be more. That's because the close to 1,000 lanzones trees (including duku and longkong) will already be productive and it will probably become a rambutan and lanzones festival.