Tangerang to plant 5,000 rambutan trees

TANGERANG: Tangerang regency plans to plant 5,000 rambutan parakan trees, a variety that is native to Tangerang, Banten.

Due to the extensive clearing of land for building manufacturing plants and housing, many rambutan parakan trees have been cut down. As a consequence, the variety is difficult to find in Tangerang and many say that if there is no effort to plant them they will totally disappear in the near future.

"In order to preserve the variety, the municipality will gradually plant 5,000 trees in Cisauk and Serpong districts, for a start," said Nana Mulyana, the head of Agriculture Agency of Tangerang regency, as reported by Antara on Saturday.

The regency administration will distribute the seeds for free to residents who own vacant land.

The parakan variety of rambutan has a unique aroma and taste that other varieties of rambutan do not posses.

From the 1960s to the 1980s, parakan rambutan was often served to guests of the regency.--JP