Thinking About Planting Lime Trees

[Somtham]

Limes always seem to fetch a premium around here so we're thinking about planting some trees and giving it a go. The local limes are so small, so hard, so seedy, and they have minimal juice. Has anyone ever introduced a Thai to a Bearss Seedless lime and what was their opinion? I'd hate to plant a lot of Bearss and then find out 3 years later the Thais don't like them.

Any input appreciated.

Thanks and rgds

[crewcut]

From what I can gather, Thais would have no problem with the variety of lime you have mentioned but they do like the lime to be firm. Kaffir Lime seems to be very popular and is often mentioned in Thai Cooking. However the Bearss, Tahitian or Persian lime as it is sometimes called is still popular in the SE Aisia region. There are many varieties of lime here in Thailand and I would imagine many are already growing the Bearss. Most limes seem to have seeds however I can't see why you would have a problem growing and selling the bearss lime. Most Thais pick the limes well before they turn yellow.

Why not get a hold of some Bearss and ask Thai people what they think, if your results are favourable then go ahead and start growing!

Edited August 20, 2007 by crewcut

[theseveredhead]

depends where you are if you can grow citris. actually , bai makhout is used more for leaves than the fruit.

youll have to graft the trees and takes five years b4 they really have fruit.

they sell about b1 a piece retail - is that good?

dont plant lamyai, sure.

im thinking rubber myself....

[torrenova]

I'd be wary of getting Bt1 as Tesco has been selling them here in Pattaya for Bt1 for ages ! and they sure ain't going to pay you anywhere near that so unless you're growing billions (or mega millions), forget it.

[sbk]

Wow, we pay between 2-5 baht each lime on Koh Phangan!

Anyway, Kaffir lime is used for leaves but regular limes are used for the juice so I think Thais would go for a juicy lime with no seeds.

[pete_r]

In Bangkok the price for lime goes up during the dry season. This year it reached 5 Bahts/piece in March-April and the roadside restaurants stopped supplying them with the khao pad and noodle soup.

During the rain season, the price goes down to around 1 Baht/piece.

[distortedlink]

Please keep in mind that agricultural business in Thailand falls under the alien prohibited professions ACT.

[Somtham]

depends where you are if you can grow citris. actually , bai makhout is used more for leaves than the fruit.

youll have to graft the trees and takes five years b4 they really have fruit.

they sell about b1 a piece retail - is that good?

dont plant lamyai, sure.

im thinking rubber myself....

Is there a recommended root stock to use for the grafting? Have you ever seen small Bearss trees or limes for sale in any of the markets?

Around here the fruit sells for B1 per piece in the raainy season and B10 for golf ball size fruit in the dry season. Not sure about Thailand but in Southern California the Bearss seems to produce fruit year round.

Would be very interested to hear from folks that are living outside of Thailand on what type(s) of limes their Thai partners cook with.

Distortedlink - there is already a topic running on the question of work permits. Here it is - Do All You Farmers Have Work Permits ?

rgds

[torrenova]

So if you can get Bt5 or Bt10 at certain times , why do people grow them at the "wrong" time of year ?

[chownah]

So if you can get Bt5 or Bt10 at certain times , why do people grow them at the "wrong" time of year ?

I'm not a lime grower so I can't give you an exact answer...so I'll give you an analogy. In Chicago (northern USA) tomatoes are very expensive in the winter and very cheap in the summer....so why do people grow tomatoes in the summer there but not in the winter?

Chownah