New tropical fruit varieties introduced to enhance CNMI agriculture

NMC-CREES Agroforestry team members, from left, Jesse DLG, Royjoe San Nicolas, Samson Palacios, Ted Vivero, Tom Pangelinan, Keoni Tudela, and Peter Ayuyu, pose alongside Dr. Craig Elevitch and Dean Patty Coleman with the six fruit varieties cultivated from Thailand: Mangosteen, Longan, Egg Fruit, Rambutan, Langsat, and Jackfruit.

By Pacific Island Times News Staff

Saipan-- Aiming to enhance local agriculture, the Northern Marianas College Cooperative Research, Extension, and Education Service, or NMC-CREES, has launched a new initiative to introduce and evaluate six types of high-value tropical fruit crops in the Commonwealth. 

Among the new plant varieties being established are mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana), often called the “queen of fruits,” and longan (Dimocarpus longan), a close relative of lychee prized for its sweetness and nutritional benefits.

Other fruits include the egg fruit (Pouteria), or canistel is prized for its unique and smooth texture often compared to a cooked egg yolk, rambutan (nephelium), known for its distinctive hairy red or yellow skin, langsat (lansium), known for its versatility in many South Asian dishes, and jackfruit (artocarpus), which may be a familiar fruit to CNMI residents.

The fruit varieties were brought as seeds to Saipan in May from Chanthaburi, Thailand, and have been germinating since then.

Because the plants are being established from seed, they will require a significant amount of time before they bear fruit. Mangosteen typically takes eight to 10 years to mature, while longan trees may begin producing fruit in four to six years under proper care.

While the wait may be long, NMC-CREES emphasizes that these crops are high-value investments with potential to benefit future generations of farmers and consumers in the islands.

The NMC-CREES team is carefully monitoring the plants’ germination, growth rates, and adaptation to the CNMI’s local soils and climate.

In the future, the program will explore opportunities for distributing planting material and providing training to interested growers. NMC-CREES recently introduced new sweet potato varieties to the CNMI and will

continue to bring in high-potential cultivars to enhance local agriculture and food security.

“This project represents a patient yet hopeful investment in the future of agriculture in the Marianas,” said Dean Patty Coleman of NMC CREES. “By introducing specialty fruits such as mangosteen and longan, we have the opportunity to open new markets, strengthen local food security, and support healthier diets for our community.”

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