Site icon THE FIGS OF BORNEO

Ficus racemosa as root-stock for Ficus carica the edible fig

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ABOVE: The prime minister of Malaysia Dr  Mahathir bin Mohamed  inspecting  pot grown edible figs (Ficus carica)  at a nursery in the Klang Valley near Kuala Lumpur in West Malaysia. In tropical areas with high rainfall edible figs cannot be grown in the ground due to attack by nematodes (tiny flat worms) which eat the roots.

Pot grown Ficus carica in Thailand. Cultivation of Ficus carica in the ground is limited to relatively dry climates. In most  areas of of Thailand Ficus carica can only be grown in pots to avoid  root eating nematodes present in the ground soil.
In the USA several experiments have shown that Ficus carica can be grafted onto a root-stock of Ficus racemosa. Ficus racemosa roots are resistant to nematode attack so this allows  Ficus carica to be grown in the ground in the wet tropics including Malaysia and Thailand. Information from Condit (1969) Ficus: The exotic species 

Ficus racemosa growing at Kg Wonod on the Sandakan-Kota Kinabalu Road. Ficus racemosa is common along the banks of slow moving rivers throughout Borneo. The fruit are edible but not tasty. However  young  Ficus racemosa saplings can be grafted or budded with Ficus carica to produce edible figs.
The orange arrow points to a Ficus racemosa (Nunuk Ragang) tree growing next to the Tampios River in the center of Sabah. Photo taken from the  Kota Kinabalu- Sandakan Road where it crosses the Tampios River Bridge.  In the wild Ficus racemosa is typically a common riverside tree, however  Ficus racemosa can be grown from seed  and planted in  a sunny position in most lowland areas of Borneo.

Ficus racemosa growing at the Shangrila Tg Aru  Resort in Kota Kinabalu.

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