2.0 Origin, Distribution, Crop status and Cultivars,

2.1 Origin and Distribution: The rambutan is one of the best known fruits of Southeast Asia is native to Malaysia. It is widely cultivated throughout the Malay Archipelago (Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines) including the tropical southern China (Yunnan and Hainan), the Caribbean islands, Central America, Indo-Chinese regions (Southern Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos), Sri Lanka and Africa. Many years ago, Arab traders introduced it into Zanzibar and Pemba. The earliest recorded introduction into West Africa was in 1900 (Morton, 1987). Rambutan was introduced into Australia in 1930s, but commercial production only started in 1970 (Watson, 1988). There are limited plantings in India, a few trees in Surinam, and in the coastal lowlands of Colombia, Ecuador, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Cuba. It is now cultivated throughout the tropics where the humidity and temperature are high enough the year round. Commercial production is primarily concentrated in Thailand (the largest producer), Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Honduras and Hawaii.

2.2 Crop Status: Rambutan is available from February through September, with peak periods between May and August in the northern hemisphere. The approximate areas under cultivation in 1987/88 were reported to be 71,150 hectares in Thailand (448,500 tonnes); 43,000 plus hectares in Indonesia (199,200 tonnes); 20,000 hectares in Malaysia (57,000 tonnes) and 500 hectares in the Philippines. World rambutan production is estimated at 1.06 million tonnes in 1999. Thailand, the largest producer with 588, 000 tonnes (55.5%), followed by Indonesia with 320,000 tonnes (30.2%) and Malaysia with 126,300 tonnes (11.9%) collectively accounted for 97% of the world's supply of rambutan (Muhamad Seterfazi, 2005). Thailand and Malaysia are the only two exporters of fresh rambutan while Thailand also exports considerable amount of canned rambutan to Asian and European countries. In 1983, fresh rambutan exported from Thailand was valued at about US$179,000 as compared to US$2,430,000 for canned rambutan.

Rambutan production is expanding in Indonesia, Malaysia, Australia, Philippines and Hawaii. The area under rambutan has stagnated at around 20,000 ha over the last 10 years with the processing sub-sector remaining virtually unexploited. Vietnam is planning to increase its rambutan cultivation to 50,000 ha with a targeted production of 500,000 tonnes by the year 2010, and may well emerge as a major producer in the near future (Anon. 2006a). In Thailand, due to over production and low prices, many rambutan farms are being replaced by durian, (Durio zibethinus Murr.). It is also reported that rambutan production is increasing in Australia and, in 1997, was one of the top three tropical fruits produced in Hawaii (Almeyda, et al., 1979; Lim, 1992; Tindall, 1994). 

•  Taxonomy and related species and cultivars

2.3.1 Taxonomy: Rambutan (2n=22) belongs to the Spindaceae family, a ver large taxonomic group of temperate and tropical plants comprising trees, shrubs, vines and lianas. There is considerable genetic diversity in rambutan, as the species is cross-pollinated and has been widely grown over a long period of time. Much diversity occurs in East Asia, in South China, and Southeast Asia, namely in Vietnam, Indo-China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. Three botanical varieties of N. lappaceum are identified; they are lappaceum, pallens (Hiern) Leenh, and xanthoides (Radlk.) Leenh (Van Welzen and Verheij, 1991). These varieties are identified based on leaflet characters as follows:

Var. lappaceum - the leaflets are widest above the middle, the midrib is sparsely pilose below, and the nerves strongly curved. This botanical variety is widely distributed in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Borneo and the Philippines, and is commonly cultivated.

Var. pallance (Hiern) Leenh - The leaflets are widest at or below the middle, the midrib is usually glabrous below, and the nerves are slightly curved. Distribution is more in East Asia (namely China), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia (Sumatra), Borneo and the southern Philippines .

	Nephelium lappaceum L. var. pallens (Hiern) Leenh

Var xanthoides (Radllk.) Leenh - The leaflets are widest at or below the middle, the midrib is shortly hairy below, and the nerves are slightly curved. Distribution is confined to Borneo .

Rambutan is the tropical relative of lychee Litchi chinensis Sonn.

2.3.2 Related Species: Rambutan (N. lappaceum) belongs to the family Sapindaceae, which includes fruit trees of about 140-150 genera and between 1,400 and 2,000 species many of which produce edible fruits (Merill, 1923; Bailey, 1949) but few species are important. There are over 30 species of Nephelium with edible fruits. Twenty-two Nephelium species have been recorded, including five in Myanmar, Thailand and Indo-China, 13 in Peninsular Malaysia, 16 in Borneo, four in the Philippines, and three in western Java (Tindall, 1994). Other fruit-producing species of genus Nephelium are N. chryseum Blume (mountain rambutan growing wild); N. ramboutan-ake (Labill.) Leenh (pulasan); Nephelium glabrum Noronha [Redan (Malay)], N. topengii (Hainan rambutan growing wild in Hainan); N. macrophyllum, N. malaiense Griff.(mata kucing), N. maingayi, N. melanosmiscum, N. philippiense (bulala); N. obovatum, the vine longan; N. bassocense;; N. glabrum, N. hypoleucum, the white under-leaf rambutan of Thailand; N. rimosum; N. xerospermoides (aluoa), Nephelium cuspidatum Blume syn N. eriopetalum var. robustum [Lotong (Malay] (Mendola, 1941: Galang 1954). The major edible types in semi-wild and domesticated species all exhibit in aril thickness, sourness/sweetness, juiciness and flavor (Rodgrigo 1976). In semi-wild and primitive forms the aril or sarcotesta invariably adhere to the seed. Among these, pulasan is reputed to have sweeter and larger fruit with thicker and better quality aril (Arora 1995).

2.3.3 Other exotic species: Lychee (Litchi chinensis) is native to lowland areas of southern China and it is a highly popular fruit in many parts of the world; they are eaten fresh, dried and also processed. Another native to southern China is longan (Dimocarpus longan) which is also eaten fresh or desiccated. Fijian longan (Melicoccus bijugattus) is native to Central and South America and the Caribbean with aril of lychee flavor. Guarana (Paullinia cupana) is a creeping vine native to Brazil is cultivated for its seeds encased by a thin aril. The seeds are extracted and roasted used as a stimulant or for a variety of purposes to flavor soft drinks and syrup. They contain higher caffeine than either coffee or tea.

Nephelium ramboutan-ake (Labill.) Leenh		Nephelium topengii (Hainan rambutan)
Nephelium chryseum (mountain rambutan)		Nephelium malaiense (Malay longan "Mata kucing")

2.3.4 Cultivars/varieties: There are well over 200 cultivars developed from selected clones available throughout tropical Asia (Almeyda, et al., 1979; Tindall, 1994; Zee, 1993). Many cultivars are present in the ASEAN region ( Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Thailand and Brunei Darussalam). The principle commercial cultivars are: 'Lebakbulus', 'Binjai', 'Seematjan', and 'Rapiah' from Indonesia; 'R134', 'Gula Batu'(R3), 'Muar Gading'(R156), 'Khaw Tow Bak'(R160), 'Lee Long' (R161), and 'Daun Hijau'(R162) from Malaysia; 'Deli Cheng' and 'Jit Lee' from Singapore; 'Seematjan', 'Seenjonja', and 'Mahalika' from the Philippines, and 'Rongrien', 'Seechohmpoo', and 'Bangyeekhan' from Thailand. Other less popular varieties in Thailand are 'Seetong', 'Namtangruad', and 'Jemong'. B-R-1 (Boting-Rambutan No.1) a new cultivar with big red ovate fruit with fine dense spines selected in Hainan , China . The thick aril of the fruit is juicy, crisp and sweet (with TSS 18.2-21.7%). The other promising rambutan from Hainan is B-R-2 (with skin yellowish in color and short spines) and contains high vitamin C but lacks good keeping quality.

The Department of Agriculture, Malaysia recommended the clones R 99, R 134, R 156, R 170, R 191 for commercial growing in Peninsular  Malaysia whilst in northern Australia, the cultivars R3, R134, R156, R168, Rapiah, Rongrien and Jit Lee were found acceptable in the market as these cultivars are relatively free from testa adherence (Watson, 1983).

	Nephelium lappaceum var. Mahalika Belen
	Nephelium lappaceum var "Seechompo"

R170 "Deli Cheng" is a vigorous clone, growing to a height of 7 m. The fruit is large, weighing about 38 g. and oval. The skin is red with long spinterns. The aril is dry and sweet (TSS =20%) with recovery of about 40%. The aril can be usually removed from the seed without attachment to the testa.

Some of the more common rambutan varieties are:

'R3' ('Gula Batu') - From Malaysia . The fruit is red, round and of a medium size.

'R134' - From Malaysia. The fruit is red, round and of a medium size weighing about 30 g with green spinterns. Aril recovery is about 40%, and it is sweet (21% TSS), firm and juicy.

R156 - "Muar Gading" is moderately vigorous clone, growing to a eight of 5-6 m. The ivory yellow fruit is round and weighs about 37 g. The aril is thick, frim and juicy. Aril recovery is 57% and about 22% TSS.

Indonesian's cv. 'Lebakbulus'	Malaysian's cv. 'R156' ('Muar Gading')	Indonesian's cv. 'Rapiah'

'R162' ('Ong Heok') - From Malaysia. The fruit is large (36 g), sweet and elongated, with a yellow red orange peel selected from Penang. The tree is vigorous with round canopy, ang grows to a height of 7 m. The aril is thick, firm, dry and sweet. Aril recovery is 54% and about 22% TSS.

'R167' ('Chai Tow Cheng'). From Malaysia. The fruit is large, sweet and elongated, with a red peel.

'Binjai' From Indonesia. Large, sweet, elongated fruit with firm pulp and a red peel.

'Jit Lee' - From Singapore. A medium sized fruit with a red peel. It has a long postharvest life.

R191 ('Rongrien') - It is the most popular clone in Thailand and its origin was from a seedling planted near a school (hence the name 'anak sekolah') in Pulau Pinang, Malaysia. The tree is rather small. The small fruit weighs about 30 g and is ovoid-round with red skin and greenish spinterns. Aril recovery is about 50%, and the aril is sweet (TSS=18%), firm and moderately juicy.

R193 Locally known as "Deli Baling", originated from Baling, Kedah, Malaysia. It is a vigorous clone attaining a height of 6 m. The fruit is round with red skin and long spinterns. The medium size fruit weighs about 35 g. The aril is sweet (TSS= 20%) and its recovery is about 42%. The clone shows good yield.

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