VARIETIES & PROPAGATION OF JACKFRUIT

Varieties

        Being a cross-pollinated and mostly seed propagated, its innumerable types of fruits differ widely in density of spines, rind, bearing, size, shape, quality and period of maturity. Local selections are named as ‘Gulabi’ (rose-scented), ‘Champa’ (flavour like that of champak) and ‘Hazar’ (bearing a large number of fruits). There are 2 broad groups of cultivated types—soft-fleshed and firm-fleshed. Rudrakshi has common pumello-sized fruits with smooth rind and less spines, whereas Singapore or Ceylon Jack, introduced from Ceylon, is highly precocious. Sometimes it produces light off-season crop between September and December. Muttam Varikka is another important variety producing fruits of 7kg each.

         A lot of variability occurs in evergreen forests of the Western Ghats, Gorakhpur, Dewaria (40kg-sized fruits) and Allahabad (small with white, juice and soft pulp) districts of Uttar Pradesh. Some of these types produce small-to-medium-sized fruits with small seeds and thin skin, offering a great potential for the varietal improvement. Jackfruit NJT 1, NJT 2, NJT 3 and NJT 4 collections from Faizabad have large fruits of excellent quality with bulbs having low fibre. They are suitable for table purpose. NJC 1, NJC 2, NJC 3 and NJC 4 have small-to medium-sized fruits with thin rind and soft flesh. They are suitable for culinary purpose. Varikka, Koozha and Navarikka (Pazam Varikka) types are available in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka with maximum density in Wynad Plateau in the Western Ghats.

Propagation

          Jackfruit is commonly propagated through seeds. Seeds should be sown immediately after extraction since they lose their viability during storage. Soaking seeds in 25ppm NAA for 24hr improves their germination and seedling growth. Air-layering, grafting (inarching and epicotyl) and budding (forkert, chip and patch) are means of its vegetative propagation. At Konkan, it gives a success of 50–90% through epicotyl grafting performed during April–May, with grafts attaining planting size within a year.