Jackfruit: Probably you never heard of

The jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam. (syns. A. integrifolius Auct. NOT L. f.; A integrifolia L. f.; A. integra Merr.; Rademachia integra Thunb. ), of the family Moraceae, is also called jak-fruit, jak, jaca, and, in Malaysia and the Philippines, nangka; in Thailand, khanun; in Cambodia, khnor; in Laos, mak mi or may mi; in Vietnam, mit. It is an excellent example of a food prized in some areas of the world and allowed to go to waste in others. O.W. Barrett wrote in 1928: ";The jaks . . . are such large and interesting fruits and the trees so well-behaved that it is difficult to explain the general lack of knowledge concerning them."


Jackfruit: Description

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.

 Origin and Distribution

No one knows the jackfruit's place of origin but it is believed indigenous to the rainforests of the Western Ghats. It is cultivated at low elevations throughout India, Burma, Ceylon, southern China, Malaya, and the East Indies. It is common in the Philippines, both cultivated and naturalized. It is grown to a limited extent in Queensland and Mauritius. In Africa, it is often planted in Kenya, Uganda and former Zanzibar. Though planted in Hawaii prior to 1888, it is still rare there and in other Pactfic islands, as it is in most of tropical America and the West Indies. It was introduced into northern Brazil in the mid-19th Century and is more popular there and in Surinam than elsewhere in the New World.

 In 1782, plants from a captured French ship destined for Martinique were taken to Jamaica where the tree is now common, and about 100 years later, the jackfruit made its appearance in Florida, presumably imported by the Reasoner's Nursery from Ceylon. The United States Department of Agriculture's Report on the Conditions of Tropical and Semitropical Fruits in the United States in 1887 states: "There are but few specimens in the State. Mr. Bidwell, at Orlando, has a healthy young tree, which was killed back to the ground, however, by the freeze of 1886. " There are today less than a dozen bearing jackfruit trees in South Florida and these are valued mainly as curiosities. Many seeds have been planted over the years but few seedlings have survived, though the jackfruit is hardier than its close relative, the breadfruit (q.v.).

In South India, the jackfruit is a popular food ranking next to the mango and banana in total annual production. There are more than 100,000 trees in backyards and grown for shade in betelnut, coffee, pepper and cardamom plantations. The total area planted to jackfruit in all India is calculated at 14,826 acres (26,000 ha). Government horticulturists promote the planting of jackfruit trees along highways, waterways and railroads to add to the country's food supply.

There are over 11,000 acres (4,452 ha) planted to jack fruit in Ceylon, mainly for timber, with the fruit a much-appreciated by-product. The tree is commonly cultivated throughout Thailand for its fruit. Away from the Far East, the jackfruit has never gained the acceptance accorded the breadfruit (except in settlements of people of East Indian origin). This is due largely to the odor of the ripe fruit and to traditional preference for the breadfruit.

Varieties

In South India, jackfruits are classified as of two general types: 1) Koozha chakka, the fruits of which have small, fibrous, soft, mushy, but very sweet carpels; 2) Koozha pazham, more important commercially, with crisp carpers of high quality known as Varika. These types are apparently known in different areas by other names such as Barka, or Berka (soft, sweet and broken open with the hands), and Kapa or Kapiya (crisp and cut open with a knife). The equivalent types are known as Kha-nun nang (firm; best) and Kha-nun lamoud (soft) in Thailand; and as Vela (soft) and Varaka, or Waraka (firm) in Ceylon. The Peniwaraka, or honey jak, has sweet pulp, and some have claimed it the best of all. The Kuruwaraka has small, rounded fruits. Dr. David Fairchild, writing of the honey jak in Ceylon, describes the rind as dark-green in contrast to the golden yellow pulp when cut open for eating, but the fruits of his own tree in Coconut Grove and those of the Matheson tree which he maintained were honey jaks are definitely yellow when ripe. The Vela type predominates in the West Indies.

Firminger described two types: the Khuja (green, hard and smooth, with juicy pulp and small seeds); the Ghila (rough, soft, with thin pulp, not very juicy, and large seeds). Dutta says Khujja, or Karcha, has pale-brown or occcasionally pale-green rind, and pulp as hard as an apple; Ghila, or Ghula, is usually light-green, occasionally brownish, and has soft pulp, sweet or acidulously sweet. He describes 8 varieties, only one with a name. This is Hazari; similar to Rudrakshi; which has a relatively smooth rind and flesh of inferior quality.

The 'Singapore', or 'Ceylon', jack, a remarkably early bearer producing fruit in 18 months to 2 1/2 years from transplanting, was introduced into India from Ceylon and planted extensively in 1949. The fruit is of medium size with small, fibrous carpers which are very sweet. In addition to the summer crop (June and July), there is a second crop from October to December. In 1961, the Horticultural Research Institute at Saharanpur, India, reported the acquisition of air-layered plants of the excellent varieties, 'Safeda', 'Khaja', 'Bhusila', 'Bhadaiyan' and 'Handia' and others. The Fruit Experimental Station at Burliar, established a collection of 54 jackfruit clones from all producing countries, and ultimately selected 'T Nagar Jack' as the best in quality and yield. The Fruit Experimental Station at Kallar, began breeding work in 1952 with a view to developing short, compact, many-branched trees, precocious and productive, bearing large, yellow, high quality fruits, 1/2 in the main season, 1/2 late. 'Singapore Jack' was chosen as the female parent because of its early and late crops; and, as the male parent, 'Velipala', a local selection from the forest having large fruits with large carpers of superior quality, and borne regularly in the main summer season. After 25 years of testing, one hybrid was rated as outstanding for precocity, fruit size, off-season as well as main season production, and yield excelling its parents. It had not been named when reported on by Chellappan and Roche in 1982. In Assam, nurserymen have given names such as 'Mammoth', 'Everbearer', and 'Rose-scented' to preferred types.