'Salak madu', Sleman's fruity treasure

Bambang M, Contributor, Yogyakarta

Last century, a Yogyakarta palace courtier and resident of Sleman regency, Kartodimejo alias Slamet, cleared land some 20 kilometers north of the capital to found the village now known as Balerante.

Kartodimejo, who served during the reign of sultan Hamengku Buwono VIII, between 1921 to 1939, came across an unusual thorny fruit plant. He decided not to uproot it and the sweet fruit was later identified as salak madu, a Salacca zalacca or variety of snake fruit.

Kartodimejo's decision proved rewarding for snake fruit farmers throughout the regency. Salak madu is now Sleman's top agricultural product.

Sleman is also renowned for another snake fruit variety, the salak pondoh. The fruit has been planted in the regency since 1998.

Nationwide, the pondoh variety also gained meteoric popularity making competition tough for snake fruit farmers in Sleman.

Locals soon learned that salak madu tasted better than other varieties, and planned to market the fruit as unique to the area.

Sleman's agricultural and forestry office has set the target of 23-hectares of salak madu farms in the regency before 2008.

The office estimates that 1,000 square meters of salak madu plantations could accumulate about Rp 140.2 million (US$16,000) in profit in four years. The sum is considerable, particularly considering the relatively low operational costs of Rp 9.7 million that would be borne by farmers.

Snake fruit farmers in Sleman learned the hard way -- or from the pondoh farmer's success. In order to prevent others from growing salak madu, farmers in Sleman agreed not to sell salak madu seeds to farmers or people outside Sleman regency, said Mujono, the chairman of Sari Madu (Balerante's association of salak madu farmers).

"Those found to have done so will be expelled from the organization," he said.

The great grandson of one of the first salak madu farmers, Kartodimejo, Mujono added that numerous people, including an envoy of a top government official from East Java, had come to the village to purchase the seeds.

"The farmers realize they must not repeat the mistake they made while popularizing salak pondoh in the 1980s," Sri Purwaningsih, a director of the food crops and agricultural department of Sleman's agricultural and forestry office, said.

Sri said that a study conducted by her department showed that the salak madu has smaller leaves than the pondoh variety so that it looks stiffer and more condensed.

The pattern on the skin of the salak madu is more uniform, it is smaller than the pondoh variety and the flesh is sweeter and thicker, she explained.

On Dec. 22, 2003, the National Seedling Institute in Jakarta officially accredited salak madu as a snake fruit variety.

"Salak madu is officially recognized as unique to Sleman. Thus, should the same type of salak be found somewhere else it would still be called salak madu," Sri said.

Salak madu costs Rp 20,000 a kilogram at the market, much more expensive than pondoh snake fruit, which is sold for just Rp 3,000 a kilogram. The higher price is mostly due to the limited supply.

"We have some 1,325 salak madu plants in Balerante and only 200 of them have yielded fruit so far," said Mujono, adding that all 200 of the plants were his.

He recalled that five plants would bear 42.5 kilograms of fruit, which he sold for a total of Rp 850,000. He said that his fruit always sold out at the market.

While it was difficult to predict exactly when the prickly plants would produce fruit, Mujono said, theoretically, they could bear fruit all year long.

He explained the plants grew well at 300 meters to 700 meters above sea level, they were susceptible to drought but tolerated heavy rain.

Normally, a salak madu plant yields fruit at the age of one-and-a-half years. Some six months later the fruit is ripe and may be harvested. The harvest periods are usually December to January and June to July, and the fruit stays fresh for up to 15 days after harvest.

He said the plants, however, did not always yield a good crop. He said in 1985 -- when his father Hardi Wiyono farmed salak madu seedlings left by Kartodimejo -- only two of three seedlings grew well. Even these did not bear fruit and Hardi uprooted the plants in dismay.

Mujono said the quality of the seeds also determined the plant's growth. Only a fine seed of less than four years of age would sprout.

That is why a salak madu seedling costs Rp 250,000, while a pondoh seedling is no more than Rp 5,000.

With each harvest, Mujono never forgets to express his gratitude to his great grandfather for not uprooting the strange thorny plant he found as a pioneer.

Mujono remembers well the day he named the fruit salak madu. The plants inherited by his predecessors were initially thought to be ordinary pondoh.

In 1998, he invited Yayah, a student of the School of Agriculture of state-run Gadjah Mada University to his plantation to conduct research on the snake fruit, which apparently had a high sugar content.

When she asked him for the name of the snake fruit, Mujono spontaneously asked her to call it salak madu in reference to its sweet taste.

Afterward, Mujono often traveled to different places to promote the snake fruit. He also asked other farmers to grow salak madu.

The plants Mujono's great grandfather found last century grow in his front yard. They have been moved four times but still they thrive. Mujono hopes this is a sign that local farmers' welfare will improve by growing the hardy plants.