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EARLY PERFORMANCE OF AUSTRALIAN AND HAWAIIAN
MACADAMIA CULTIVARS IN THAILAND

Supattra Supamatee, Philip J. Ito
1
and Damkerng Jalichan
Highland Agriculture Office, Horticulture Research Institute,
Department of Agriculture, Bangkok, Thailand

First published in Proceedings of the First International Macadamia Research Conference; Kona Hilton, Kailua-Kona,
Hawaii, USA; July 28-30 1992; pp. 107-111

ABSTRACT. Ten macadamia cultivars (Macadamia integrifolia) were planted in 1985 at fifteen locations throughout
Thailand. Initial data show that the better locations for macadamia are in the north where average minimum temperatures
were 16.8 to 19.0C and maximum temperatures were 23.1 to 30.6C. In the south, trees grew well and trunk girths for most
cultivars were comparable to the north but few produced flowers. Highest yield of 3.7 kg/WIS, was by 'Own Choice' at
Chiang Rai. Kernel size for most cultivars exceeded 2 g at Wawi and Doi Muser while at Fang and Chiang Rai size was less
than 1.5 g. Likewise, grade No. 1 kernel recovery at Wawi and Doi Muser was 30% or more, at Fang and Chiang Rai it was
less than 30%.

Seeds of Macadamia integrifolia (Maiden et Betche) were introduced into Thailand in 1953 and seedlings planted at Fang
in 1955 and at Doi Muser in 1957 (Trochoulias, 1985). In 1968 several Hawaiian cultivars were grafted at Fang horticultural
experiment station (Ito, 1988). These trees were planted in a poor location where yield and quality were erratic. After
providing good drainage and better maintenance, yield of the best tree was 30 kg of wet-in-shell (WIS) nuts.

At present there are about 100 hectares of macadamia planted. More plantings are anticipated with the increasing interest in
macadamia (Ito, 1990). However, there is no reliable data for macadamia performance such as recommended cultivars and
locations for Thailand.

The project was initiated in 1985 by Damkerng Jalichan to address some of these problems. Grafted plants were imported
from Australia by the Highland Agriculture Research Office of the Department of Agriculture for testing at fifteen selected

locations in Thailand. Performance data such as trunk girth, flowering, yield, kernel size, quality, insect pests and diseases
were recorded at the various locations.

Location
The fifteen locations in Thailand were selected to encompass the various regions in the country. Seven of these locations
are representative of their respective area and are presented in Table 1. Latitude ranges from 7.5 to 19.8N and altitude from
100 to 1300 m. Annual rainfall from the different areas ranged from 1048 to 3231mm. Average maximum temperatures are from
23.1 to 33.3C while average minimum temperatures range from 16.8 to 25.4C.

Topography for the selected location were flat in the south and generally hilly in the north. Rainfall patterns differ in the
various area but they commonly have a wet and dry season. As expected, temperatures are much warmer in the south.

Table 1: Latitude, altitude, region, rainfall and temperatures of seven locations in Thailand
Parameter Locations
Trang Cha Choeng
Sao
Sri Saket

Chiang
Rai
Fang Doi Muser

Wawi
Latitude (N) 7.5 13.7 15.0 19.8 19.8 16.7 19.7
Altitude (m) 100 100 200 300 500 800 1300
Region SW
Z
SE NE UN UN LN UN
Rainfall (mm/yr) 2412 1084 1326 1486 1411 1580 3231
Avg. Max. Temp. (C) 32.3 33.3 32.9 30.6 31.4 26.7 23.1

Avg. Min. Temp. (C) 25.4 22.9 22.6 19.0 18.4 17.7 16.8
Z
SW = Southwest NE = Northeast LN = Lower North SE = Southeast UN = Upper North

Cultivars
Grafted trees were planted in 1985 and consisted of ten cultivars. Australian cultivars were 'Own Choice' (OC), 'Hinde' (H2)
and 'Hybrid H.Y'. 'Keauhou' (H.A.E.S.
2
246), 'Ikaika' (333), 'Kau' (344), 'Kakea' (508), 'Keaau' (660), 'Mauka' (741) and 'Makai'

1
Professor, Department of Horticulture, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Hilo, Hawaii 96720, USA
2
Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station selection number


(800) were commercial cultivars developed and grown in Hawaii. Trees were planted in a replicated block design with four
replicates consisting of one tree of each cultivar. Trees were spaced 5 x 10 m with buffer trees around the entire field.
Irrigation was provided as needed and 16:16:16 N:P:K fertilizer applied three times a year. Weeds were controlled and a light
grass mulch applied under the trees. Trees trained to a central leader but at some locations branches were excessively
removed for propagation. Intercropping with coffee, asparagus and banana was practiced at some locations.

Growth
A good indication of vigor of macadamia trees is the girth (circumference) of the trunk. This girth was measured 60 cm
above the ground and listed in Table 2. Growth in the warmer southern area was comparable to that of the cooler northern
areas. Trees grew well at Chiang Rai but did poorly in hot, dry areas of the north.

The cultivar most susceptible to high temperatures in the south was 'Kakea' which was stunted, had yellow leaves and at
some locations died. However, in cooler northern areas, it did well with growth equal to other cultivars. 'Keaau', 'Hinde' and
'Mauka' had larger girth while 'Keauhou' and 'Hybrid' had smaller trunk girth.

Table 2: Trunk girth (circumference) of Australian and Hawaiian macadamia cultivars at seven locations in Thailand.
Cultivars Locations
Trang Cha
Cheong
Sao
Sri
Saket
Chiang
Rai
Fang Doi
Muser
Wawi Avg std dev
(cm)
246 30.4 25.4 30.2 45.6 20.0 32.0 29.2 30.4 7.8
333 30.2 - - 41.2 27.0 34.5 33.1 33.2 5.3
344 30.7 20.6 24.2 43.8 20.2 33.5 - 28.8 9.1
508 - - - - 32.0 - 32.0 -
660 35.7 - 36.4 40.8 33.3 - 29.6 35.2 4.1
741 36.3 32.3 27.9 - 30.1 33.5 28.9 31.5 3.1
800 - - - - - - 32.3 32.3 -
HY - 27.0 - 22.2 - - - 24.6 3.4
OC - 20.4 24.8 - - - - 22.6 3.1
H2 30.0 35.2 37.8 38.8 27.3 34.0 32.1 33.6 4.1
Avg 32.2 26.8 30.2 38.7 26.3 33.3 30.9 - -
std dev 3.2 6.0 5.8 8.6 5.4 1.7 2.1 - -

Yield
WIS yields from five years old trees are listed in Table 3. After 5 years trees produced nuts only in the four northern
locations while no nuts was produced in the southern three sites probably due to high minimum temperatures. Trees at

Chiang Rai yielded the most, averaging 1.9 kg per tree for all cultivars followed by Wawi with 0.7 kg and 0.4 kg at Fang and
Doi Muser. The most productive cultivars were 'Ikaika', 'Hybrid H.Y.', 'Own Choice', and 'Hinde'.

Table 3: WIS yield of five year old Australian and Hawaiian macadamia cultivars in Thailand.
Cultivars Locations
Chiang Rai Fang Doi Muser Wawi Avg std dev
(g/tree)
246 960 409 297 889 638.8 334.4
333 3484 1207 486 1483 1665.0 1283.4
344 854 434 282 246 454.0 278.8
508 - - 443 556 499.5 79.9
660 1287 342 447 1170 811.5 485.8
741 2127 367 469 555 879.5 835.2
800 438 109 213 200 240.0 139.9
HY 2843 - 367 374 1194.7 1427.5
OC 3711 155 278 111 1063.8 1766.2
H2 1115 277 596 1715 925.8 622.7
Avg 1868.8 412.5 387.8 730.0 - -
std dev 1215.9 341.3 119.5 561.9 - -

At Doi Muser and Wawi, major flowering occurred in September to October and matured nuts were harvested in March to
April. At Chiang Rai and Fang, flowering occurred in February to March and nuts matured in August to September.
Flowering and fruiting at Doi Muser and Wawi seem more similar to Kona, Hawaii and as the trees mature, nuts will be
produced throughout the year.

Kernel Quality
Kernels weighing from 2 to 3 g are considered ideal for processing while kernels less than 1.5g are considered too small and
those greater than 3.5 g too large for cans or bottles (Ito et al., 1980).

Kernel size for several cultivars at Wawi and Doi Muser was over 2.0 g. At Fang and Chiang Rai kernel size averaged 1.3 g or

less. 'Own Choice' produced the largest kernels at Wawi weighing 2.9g and 'Hybrid HY' the least with 1.7 g. (Table 4)

Table 4: Kernel size of Australian and Hawaiian macadamia cultivars in Thailand
Cultivars Locations
Chiang Rai Fang Doi Muser Wawi Avg std dev
(g)
246 1.3 1.1 2.7 2.0 1.8 0.7
333 1.6 1.0 1.8 2.0 1.6 0.4
344 1.5 1.1 1.6 2.2 1.6 0.5
660 1.0 1.0 2.6 2.2 1.7 0.8
741 0.9 1.3 2.4 2.7 1.8 0.9
800 0.9 1.4 1.9 2.2 1.6 0.6
HY 1.4 - - 1.7 1.6 0.3
OC 1.8 - - 2.9 2.4 0.3
H2 1.4 1.3 1.9 2.2 1.7 0.4
Avg 1.3 1.2 2.1 2.2 - -
std dev 0.3 0.2 0.4 0.3 - -

Percent Hawaii grade No. 1 (float in water) kernel recovery of macadamia is a good measure of the quality of a cultivar under
different environmental conditions (Ito et al., 1980). The percentage is calculated by multiplying the percent kernel of dry-in-
shell nuts by the percent No. 1 kernels.

According to Table 5, at Wawi and Doi Muser, percent No. 1 kernel recovery was 30% or better for several cultivars while at
Chiang Rai and Fang, it was less than 30%. 'Mauka' had the best quality at Wawi with 37% recovery of No. 1 kernels and
'Keauhou' the least with 19%. At Doi Muser 'Keaau' had the best recovery with 36% and 'Mauka' the least with 20%.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Initial data indicate that the area for macadamia production is in the north where cooler temperatures prevail and average
minimum temperature is below 19C. Dry, hot conditions, especially after flowering may cause poor yield and small kernels.
Trees grow well in the southern and northern areas but few flowers were produced in the south.

Cultivars performed differently at the sites and the best WIS yield 3.7 kg. was produced by 'Own Choice' at Chiang Rai.
Kernel size for most cultivars exceeded 2 g at Wawi and Doi Muser while at Fang and Chiang Rai kernel size was less than
1.5 g. Likewise, recovery of no. 1 kernels at Wawi and Doi Muser were 30% or more but at Fang and Chiang Rai quality was
poor.

Relative yield of No. 1 kernel (WIS x % No. 1 kernel) by cultivar and site (Table 6) was included by editor for comparison
purposes.

Table 5: Percent recovery of No. 1 kernels from Australian and Hawaiian macadamia cultivars in Thailand.
Cultivars Chiang Rai Fang Doi Muser Wawi Avg std dev
246 - 28 30 19 25.7 5.9
333 27 28 23 23 25.3 2.6
344 23 21 31 29 26.0 4.8
508 - - - 21 - -
660 27 27 36 33 30.8 4.0
741 26 26 31 37 30.0 5.2
800 18 33 20 35 26.5 8.7
HY 26 - - 22 24.0 2.8
OC 27 30 - 36 31.0 4.6
H2 28 29 30 28 28.8
Avg 25.3 27.8 28.7 283 - -
std dev 3.3 3.5 55 6.8 - -


Table 6. Relative yield of marketable kernels from 5 year-old macadamia trees in Thailand
z

Cultivars Locations
Chiang Rai Fang. Doi Muser Wawi Avg

(g/tree)
246 - 115 89 169 124
333 941 338 112 341 433
344 196 91 87 71 112
508 - - - 117 117
660 347 92 161 386 247
741 553 95 145 205 250
800 79 36 43 70 57
HY 739 - - 82 411
OC 1002 47 - 40 363
H2 312 80 179 480 263
Avg 521 112 117 196 -
z
Editor derived from Tables 3 and 5.

Literature Cited
Ito, P.J., R.A. Hamilton and H.H. Hirae. 1983. Yield and quality of five major macadamia cultivars in Hawaii. Tropical
Agriculture. 60: 64-66.

Ito, P.J. 1988. Macadamia nut research evaluation and recommendations for Thailand. USAID and Thailand Department of
Agriculture, Highland Research Office, Bangkok, Thailand. pp. 37.

Ito, P.J. 1990. Macadamia nut research evaluation and recommendation for Thailand. USAID and Thailand Department of
Agriculture, Highland Research Office, Bangkok, Thailand. pp. 25.

Trochoulias, T. 1985. Recommendation on Macadamias and preliminary advice on temperate fruit research, Australian
Cooperation with the National Agricultural Research Project of Thailand, Department of Agriculture, New South Wales,
Australia. pp. 39