One of the mangosteen plantation areas in Indonesia is in Cengal, Karcak, Leuwi Liang, Bogor Regency. Nanang Koswara (38) is a successful mangosteen farmer in this area. Following are the tips and methods for making mangosteen seeds which he told Tabloid Sinar Tani.
The first step in growing mangosteen is preparation. Preparations are made by determining the parent tree. KH Suyuti, a community leader in this village and sub-district who is also Nanang Koswara’s father-in-law, said he has a mangosteen tree that is over 100 years old. “We made that tree the main tree. “We have five mother trees,” he told Sinar Tani.
The mangosteen fruit from the mother tree is only for consumption, not for sale because the seeds will be taken. Not all seeds are taken for seedlings. Only those with large, plump or thick seeds are taken, with a diameter of between 1 – 2 cm. “Even though the fruit is small, the seeds are large, we still take the seeds for seedlings,” explained Nanang Koswara, who has been to the State Palace to receive the Food Security Award from the President.
Mangosteen seeds can also be purchased from farmers for between IDR 50 – 150 rupiah per seed. These random seeds, sometimes not from the parent tree, are selected again to only take the big ones. If the seeds are not from the parent tree, or the plant is still young, its growth is slow and the leaves are small, and die easily, you can move it to a mangosteen garden.
The seeds have mucus attached to them. The mucus needs to be cleaned by soaking it in water. It takes about a week for this soaking. However, if you want it to be faster, you can do it by soaking the slimy seeds in water and using your hands to clean the mucus.
If the seeds are not sown immediately, they need to be kept soaked in a basin. Farmers usually need time to collect mangosteen seeds. There are some that take up to two weeks to collect in large quantities and are ready to be seeded. These seeds must not be dry before sowing.
After collecting a large number of mangosteen seeds, the next step is to sow them. Seeding can be done directly on the farmer’s land/field, with a distance of 10 cm, with stakes installed as a sign. However, it is better if sowing is done in a place specifically for seeding, for example using a special container, such as a plastic or woven bamboo tray. The soil medium is soil mixed with a little sand, so that it is easy when moving. (Sinar Tani)
source: https://jogjabenih.jogjaprov.go.id/read/a1de7c0c92a939260ce490d78c9efc818ec6c7171b1cd3123771ced6865c1cb61851