Jackfruit / Artocarpus Heterophyllus Plant

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Jackfruit / Artocarpus Heterophyllus Plant

Rs.249

Description

Pollination

Horticulturists in Madras have found that hand-pollination produces fruits with more of the fully developed bulbs than does normal wind-pollination.

Climate

The jackfruit is adapted only to humid tropical and near-tropical climates. It is sensitive to frost in its early life and cannot tolerate drought. If rainfall is deficient, the tree must be irrigated. In India, it thrives in the Himalayan foothills and from sea-level to an altitude of 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in the south. It is stated that jackfruits grown above 4,000 ft (1,200 m) are of poor quality and usable only for cooking. The tree ascends to about 800 ft (244 m) in Kwangtung, China.

Soil

The jackfruit tree flourishes in rich, deep soil of medium or open texture, sometimes on deep gravelly or laterite soil. It will grow, but more slowly and not as tall in shallow limestone. In India, they say that the tree grows tall and thin on sand, short and thick on stony land. It cannot tolerate "wet feet". If the roots touch water, the tree will not bear fruit or may die.

Propagation

Propagation is usually by seeds which can be kept no longer than a month before planting. Germination requires 3 to 8 weeks but is expedited by soaking seeds in water for 24 hours. Soaking in a 10% solution of gibberellic acid results in 100% germination. The seeds may be sown in situ or may be nursery-germinated and moved when no more than 4 leaves have appeared. A more advanced seedling, with its long and delicate tap root, is very difficult to transplant successfully. Budding and grafting attempts have often been unsuccessful, though Ochse considers the modified Forkert method of budding feasible. Either jackfruit or champedak (q.v.) seedlings may serve as rootstocks and the grafting may be done at any time of year. Inarching has been practiced and advocated but presents the same problem of transplanting after separation from the scion parent. To avoid this and yet achieve consistently early bearing of fruits of known quality, air-layers produced with the aid of growth promoting hormones are being distributed in India. In Florida cuttings of young wood have been rooted under mist. At Calcutta University, cuttings have been successfully rooted only with forced and etiolated shoots treated with indole butyric acid (preferably at 5,000 mg/l) and kept under mist. Tissue culture experiments have been conducted at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore.

Season

In Asia, jackfruits ripen principally from March to June, April to September, orJune to August, depending on the climatic region, with some off-season crops from September to December, or a few fruits at other times of the year. In the West Indies, I have seen many ripening in June; in Florida, the season is late summer and fall.

Harvesting

Fruits mature 3 to 8 months from flowering. In Jamaica, an "X" is sometimes cut in the apex of the fruit to speed ripening and improve flavor.

Yield

In India, a good yield is 150 large fruits per tree annually, though some trees bear as many as 250 and a fully mature tree may produce 500, these probably of medium or small size.

Storage

Jackfruits turn brown and deteriorate quickly after ripening. Cold storage trials indicate that ripe fruits can be kept for 3 to 6 weeks at 52° to 55°F (11.11°-12.78°C) and relative humidity of 85 to 95%.

Pests and Diseases

Principal insect pests in India are the shoot-borer caterpillar, Diaphania caesalis; mealybugs. Nipaecoccus viridis, Pseudococcus corymbatus, and Ferrisia virgata, the spittle bug, Cosmoscarta relata, and jack scale,Ceroplastes rubina. The most destructive and widespread bark borers are Indarbela tetraonis and Batocera rufomaculata. Other major pests are the stem and fruit borer, Margaronia caecalis, and the brown bud-weevil,Ochyromera artocarpio. In southern China, the larvae of the longicorn beetles, including Apriona germarri; Pterolophia discalis, Xenolea tomenlosa asiatica, and Olenecamptus bilobus seriously damage the fruit stem. The caterpillar of the leaf webbers, Perina nuda and Diaphania bivitralis, is a minor problem, as are aphids, Greenidea artocarpi and Toxoptera aurantii; and thrips, Pseudodendrothrips dwivarna.

Diseases of importance include pink disease, Pelliculana (Corticium) salmonicolor, stem rot, fruit rot and male inflorescence rot caused by Rhizopus artocarpi; and leafspot due to Phomopsis artocarpina, Colletotrichum lagenarium, Septoria artocarpi, and other fungi. Gray blight, Pestalotia elasticola, charcoal rot,Ustilana zonata, collar rot, Rosellinia arcuata, and rust, Uredo artocarpi, occur on jackfruit in some regions.

The fruits may be covered with paper sacks when very young to protect them from pests and diseases. Burkill says the bags encourage ants to swarm over the fruit and guard it from its enemies.

The tree is handsome and stately, 30 to 70 ft (9-21 m) tall, with evergreen, alternate, glossy, somewhat leathery leaves to 9 in (22.5 cm) long, oval on mature wood, sometimes oblong or deeply lobed on young shoots. All parts contain a sticky, white latex. Short, stout flowering twigs emerge from the trunk and large branches, or even from the soil-covered base of very old trees. The tree is monoecious: tiny male flowers are borne in oblong clusters 2 to 4 in (5-10 cm) in length; the female flower clusters are elliptic or rounded. Largest of all tree-borne fruits, the jackfruit may be 8 in to 3 ft (20-90 cm) long and 6 to 20 in (15-50 cm) wide, and the weight ranges from 10 to 60 or even as much as 110 lbs (4.5-20 or 50 kg). The "rind' or exterior of the compound or aggregate fruit is green or yellow when ripe and composed of numerous hard, cone-like points attached to a thick and rubbery, pale yellow or whitish wall. The interior consists of large "bulbs" (fully developed perianths) of yellow, banana-flavored flesh, massed among narrow ribbons of thin, tough undeveloped perianths (or perigones), and a central, pithy core. Each bulb encloses a smooth, oval, light-brown "seed" (endocarp) covered by a thin white membrane (exocarp). The seed is 3/4 to 1 1/2 in (2-4 cm) long and 1/2 to 3/4 in (1.25-2 cm) thick and is white and crisp within. There may be 100 or up to 500 seeds in a single fruit. When fully ripe, the unopened jackfruit emits a strong disagreeable odor, resembling that of decayed onions, while the pulp of the opened fruit smells of pineapple and banana. Pollination Horticulturists in Madras have found that hand-pollination produces fruits with more of the fully developed bulbs than does normal wind-pollination. Climate The jackfruit is adapted only to humid tropical and near-tropical climates. It is sensitive to frost in its early life and cannot tolerate drought. If rainfall is deficient, the tree must be irrigated. In India, it thrives in the Himalayan foothills and from sea-level to an altitude of 5,000 ft (1,500 m) in the south. It is stated that jackfruits grown above 4,000 ft (1,200 m) are of poor quality and usable only for cooking. The tree ascends to about 800 ft (244 m) in Kwangtung, China. Soil The jackfruit tree flourishes in rich, deep soil of medium or open texture, sometimes on deep gravelly or laterite soil. It will grow, but more slowly and not as tall in shallow limestone. In India, they say that the tree grows tall and thin on sand, short and thick on stony land. It cannot tolerate "wet feet". If the roots touch water, the tree will not bear fruit or may die. Propagation Propagation is usually by seeds which can be kept no longer than a month before planting. Germination requires 3 to 8 weeks but is expedited by soaking seeds in water for 24 hours. Soaking in a 10% solution of gibberellic acid results in 100% germination. The seeds may be sown in situ or may be nursery-germinated and moved when no more than 4 leaves have appeared. A more advanced seedling, with its long and delicate tap root, is very difficult to transplant successfully. Budding and grafting attempts have often been unsuccessful, though Ochse considers the modified Forkert method of budding feasible. Either jackfruit or champedak (q.v.) seedlings may serve as rootstocks and the grafting may be done at any time of year. Inarching has been practiced and advocated but presents the same problem of transplanting after separation from the scion parent. To avoid this and yet achieve consistently early bearing of fruits of known quality, air-layers produced with the aid of growth promoting hormones are being distributed in India. In Florida cuttings of young wood have been rooted under mist. At Calcutta University, cuttings have been successfully rooted only with forced and etiolated shoots treated with indole butyric acid (preferably at 5,000 mg/l) and kept under mist. Tissue culture experiments have been conducted at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore. Season In Asia, jackfruits ripen principally from March to June, April to September, orJune to August, depending on the climatic region, with some off-season crops from September to December, or a few fruits at other times of the year. In the West Indies, I have seen many ripening in June; in Florida, the season is late summer and fall. Harvesting Fruits mature 3 to 8 months from flowering. In Jamaica, an "X" is sometimes cut in the apex of the fruit to speed ripening and improve flavor. Yield In India, a good yield is 150 large fruits per tree annually, though some trees bear as many as 250 and a fully mature tree may produce 500, these probably of medium or small size. Storage Jackfruits turn brown and deteriorate quickly after ripening. Cold storage trials indicate that ripe fruits can be kept for 3 to 6 weeks at 52° to 55°F (11.11°-12.78°C) and relative humidity of 85 to 95%. Pests and Diseases Principal insect pests in India are the shoot-borer caterpillar, Diaphania caesalis; mealybugs. Nipaecoccus viridis, Pseudococcus corymbatus, and Ferrisia virgata, the spittle bug, Cosmoscarta relata, and jack scale,Ceroplastes rubina. The most destructive and widespread bark borers are Indarbela tetraonis and Batocera rufomaculata. Other major pests are the stem and fruit borer, Margaronia caecalis, and the brown bud-weevil,Ochyromera artocarpio. In southern China, the larvae of the longicorn beetles, including Apriona germarri; Pterolophia discalis, Xenolea tomenlosa asiatica, and Olenecamptus bilobus seriously damage the fruit stem. The caterpillar of the leaf webbers, Perina nuda and Diaphania bivitralis, is a minor problem, as are aphids, Greenidea artocarpi and Toxoptera aurantii; and thrips, Pseudodendrothrips dwivarna. Diseases of importance include pink disease, Pelliculana (Corticium) salmonicolor, stem rot, fruit rot and male inflorescence rot caused by Rhizopus artocarpi; and leafspot due to Phomopsis artocarpina, Colletotrichum lagenarium, Septoria artocarpi, and other fungi. Gray blight, Pestalotia elasticola, charcoal rot,Ustilana zonata, collar rot, Rosellinia arcuata, and rust, Uredo artocarpi, occur on jackfruit in some regions. The fruits may be covered with paper sacks when very young to protect them from pests and diseases. Burkill says the bags encourage ants to swarm over the fruit and guard it from its enemies.