Rosita (left) holding up Anak Sekolah rambutans while Farizan holds the Muar Gading rambutans.

KUCHING: The public, especially families with children, should not miss the opportunity to experience fruit picking this fruit season at UiTM’s Pluck and Pack Rambutan 2015, said UiTM academic affairs deputy rector Assoc Prof Dr Rosita Suhaimi.

She said fruit picking, for example for cherry and strawberry, has become one of the activities during the open days of universities overseas.

“This event is a community engagement event to let the public see for themselves what we have at our Campus 1 here. It also gives opportunity to children and school children to experience fruit plucking like in fruit orchards because not many may have the chance to do so,” she said when met at the university’s plantation unit yesterday.

Held since 2011, she said this is the first time that the event is open to the public as it used to be only for staff and their family members.

Three breeds of rambutans are planted in the campus – R191 Anak Sekolah, R156 Muar Gading and R3 Gula Batu (yellow).

Participants can eat as much as they want. However, if they want to bring the fruits home, members of the public are charged RM2 per kg per person up to a maximum of five kg. Staff members are charged RM1 per kg per person up to a maximum of 10 kg if they want to bring the fruits home.

Entrance fee is RM1 per person and children aged six and below can enter free of charge.

Held from 9am to 4pm since yesterday the event will go on until Dec 31.

Meanwhile, the university’s plantation industry management faculty also sells vegetables and chicken to UiTM staff. It rears between 1,000 and 1,500 chicken for sale each cycle.

Since November this year, students taking up Diploma in Plantation have been moved to UiTM Mukah and only those taking degree in the same course remain in the campus.

“We have 400-500 diploma students that we have transferred to Mukah and 250 degree students are still here. There are fewer degree students because our Diploma students are in high demand after graduation and those who continue to degree level prefer to start work after getting their degree,” she said.

She further said UiTM planned to branch out to Aquaculture and Herbal Production in Mukah, possibly by end of next year or early 2017.

On the fruit picking event, UiTM plantation manager Mohamad Farizan Jamil said some 400 people attended the four-day event last year, and he expected a bigger crowd this year despite the rainy weather.

“Before we held this event, we harvested around 1.3 tons of rambutans which we sold. There are still ample fruits for participants to pluck as each tree yields between 30-40 kg of fruits and there are 150 trees in the plantation.”

Participants doing all their best to pluck the rambutans amidst the drizzle.