Durian growing area diary: necessary data for retrieval and stable sales

The planting area diary is not just for "sufficient records". This is data that helps durian orchards keep codes, control materials, prove farming processes and negotiate better with purchasing businesses.

Summary: For officially exported durian, the growing area diary is something that cannot be done lightly. When there are problems with residue, pests or mixed area codes, the shipment will be traced back to the orchard. This article explains the minimum set of data to record, how to organize by batch, and how to use the diary for more stable sales.

Applies to: Ri6, Monthong, Dona, Musang King durian orchards already have planting area codes or are preparing documents.
Duration: Record continuously all year round, updated immediately after each fertilization, spraying, watering, and harvesting.
Difficulty level: Medium. The hardest part is maintaining it, not software engineering.
Estimated additional costs: 0-3 million VND per year if using spreadsheet; 3-10 million VND per year if using QR software/stamps for cooperatives.

Why is the growing area diary important

Many orcharders only keep diaries when requested by officials or businesses. That way it's easy to lack data because when you need to retrieve it, you won't remember the exact date of spraying, active ingredients, or which batch was collected.

A good diary helps the orchard do four things:

Maintain the growing area code condition: prove that the orchard has controlled materials, pests and hygiene according to registered requirements.
Quick retrieval when there is a warning: know what time the shipment came from, what date it was cut, what treatment was used.
Calculate real costs: fertilizer, treatment, labor, irrigation water, ratio type 1/type 2.
Working with businesses is easier: with clear data, traders/businesses can feel secure in booking purchasing schedules.

Diary does not replace farming techniques. But it is proof that the technique was done correctly.

Structure of the growing area before recording

First, the orchard must be divided into clear plots/plots:

orchard code: household name or cooperative code.
Batch code: e.g. SR-A01, SR-A02, SR-B01.
Area of each lot: recorded in hectares or square meters.
Varieties and tree ages: Ri6 is 7 years old, Monthong is 5 years old.
Actual number of trees: number of living trees, number of trees bearing fruit.
orchard plan: rows, ditches, paths, location of water intake, left gathering area.

If not divided, the diary will just be a generic book. When there is a problem with the shipment, it is not known which tree or which plot the fruit comes from.

Data needs to be recorded daily or weekly

Weather and irrigation water

Short but even notes:

Rainy/sunny day, heavy or light rain.
Condition of orchard ditch: enough water, shallow, at risk of salinity.
Salinity measurement results if the area has salinity drought.
Irrigation times: date, irrigation plot, irrigation time, water source.

With durian, water data is very important because the tree is sensitive to drought and salinity. If the tree loses leaves, burns leaf edges, or has damaged fruit, a water log will help find the cause faster.

Fertilize

Each time of fertilization, write:

Fertilization date.
Plot/tree fertilized.
Fertilizer name, formula, manufacturer.
Dose per tree or per hectare.
Implementer.
Note: dry land, after rain, growing fruit, after harvest.

For example: “August 12, lot SR-A01, NPK 12-12-17 + TE, 0.8 kg/tree, after fruiting 45 days”.

Spraying plant protection chemicals

This is the part that must be recorded most carefully:

Commercial product name.
Active ingredients.
Mixed dosage.
Amount of water sprayed.
Spray lot.
Objects of prevention/extermination: mealybugs, pink fungus, anthracnose, fruit borers.
Quarantine period according to label.
Sprayers and spray equipment.

Do not write “crop-protection product spraying” or “fungus spraying”. When exporting goods, businesses need to know the specific active ingredients to control residue.

Data by stage left

Flowering

Record:

The day you see flower buds.
Proportion of flowering plants in each plot.
Time to prune flowers.
Additional pollination if any.
Pests and diseases on flowers.

Fruit setting and fruit cultivation

Record:

Fruit setting date.
Average number of fruits retained per tree.
Time to prune fruit.
Number of fruits removed because of distortion, pests, weak stems.
The condition of young fruit falling.
Fruit fertilization and calcium-boron spraying.

The fruit growing diary helps evaluate why this crop's fruit is small, shabby or the rate of type 1 is low.

Harvest

Each cutting session needs to record:

Cut date.
Cutting lot.
Number of fruits.
Total weight.
Rate of type 1, type 2, domestic, stamped fruit.
Name of cutting team or person in charge.
Packaging facility code/receiving business.

If there is a batch QR stamp, the stamp must be associated with the cut date and cut batch. Don't mix many batches and write them down later.

How to make a simple diary

For small households

A spreadsheet is enough:

A "orchard information" sheet.
A sheet “Fertilization”.
A “Spraying” sheet.
A “Watering” sheet.
A “Harvest” sheet.

Each line is one operation. Most important: enter it on the same day, don't wait until the weekend to remember.

With cooperatives

Should use a uniform sample for households:

Each household has its own code.
Each batch has its own code.
Standardized list of drugs/stools.
Someone checks the data every week.
When harvesting, the batch code must accompany the weighing slip and delivery note.

Cooperatives should not let each household write one style. If the data is different, it is difficult to synthesize when shipping goods.

15-minute daily routine

An easy way to maintain:

Morning: check the orchard, record unusual pests and diseases.
After fertilizing/spraying/irritating: take a photo of the material label + enter the log line.
At the end of the day: check the line to see if there are missing doses, batches, or operators.
Weekend: summary of costs and status of each lot.

It only takes 10-15 minutes every day. But if you leave it for a month, it's almost certainly wrong.

Common mistakes

Record the whole orchard: cannot trace which lot was sprayed and which lot was collected.

Only list the trade name, not the active ingredient: difficult to control residues and rotate drugs.

Recorded after the trader asked: data is prone to wrong dates and wrong doses.

Mixing multiple batches before weighing: loss of traceability.

Not recording quarantine time: easy to cut fruit too close to spraying date.

Minimum field set should be

[ ] orchard code, plot code, area, variety, tree age.
[ ] Irrigation schedule and water source.
[ ] Fertilizer schedule: fertilizer name, dose, lot.
[ ] Spraying schedule: drug name, active ingredient, dose, target, isolation.
[ ] Blooming calendar, flower pruning, fruit pruning.
[ ] Harvest schedule: date, batch, yield, classification.
[ ] Delivery note and packaging facility to receive fruit.

References

*Phytosanitary requirements for Vietnamese durian exported to China* — Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, 2022.
*Instructions for establishing and managing growing area codes* — Department of Crop Production and Plant Protection.
*Traceability in agricultural production* — Department of Quality, Processing and Market Development, 2023.