Artocarpus heterophyllus

A fast-growing evergreen tree reaching 15 m (49 ft) in height and spread. Hardy to UK zone 10 and frost-tender. Pollinated by insects and wind. Adapts to light sandy, medium loamy, and heavy clay soils with preference for good drainage; tolerates very alkaline pH. Grows in semi-shade or full sun. Prefers moist soil.

Description

An evergreen tree up to 20 m tall and in the breadfruit family. Trees form many branches but have one or two main trunks. The bark is smooth and dark green. Leaves of young trees have 1 or 2 lobes but mature leaves are long (15 cm) and entire. They are leathery, deep green and glossy. Flowers occur on spikes, on stalks from the trunk or main branches. Some stalks only have male flowers, others only have female flowers while some have both male and female spikes. Generally male flowers are on short stalks among the leaves, and female flowers are on trunks. Male flowers are 5 cm long by 2 cm wide and are dull green. Female flowers are bright green. The very large spiny fruit grow on main branches and the trunk. The fruit is a composite fruit made up from the many individual flowers of the flower cluster. Fruit can be 1 m long and weigh 36 kg. They have 6 sided fleshy spines. Each seed is surrounded by a yellow fleshy sheath. Seed are 2-4 cm long and 1-2 cm wide. There can be 100-500 seed in a fruit. Unlike breadfruit, there are no seedless Jackfruit. When ripe the unopened fruit has a strong smell.

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Flowers Fruit Leaves Seed Shoots Edible Uses: Gelatine Gum Edible portion: Fruit, Seeds, Leaves, Flowers. Fruit - raw or cooked in a variety of ways. The pulp of young fruit is rich in carbohydrates and is usually cooked as a vegetable. The fruit becomes sweeter as it ripens, as some of the carbohydrates are converted into sugars. It is often eaten raw at this stage, but is also still cooked as a vegetable. The rind of the fruit yields a fair jelly. The fruit case is enormous, it can be 30 - 50cm long, weigh up to 20kg and contain up to 500 individual golden-coloured fruits. They have rather a strong smell which some people do not like, though they can be dried when the smell is less. Seed - cooked. Lovely when boiled or roasted, with a flavour and texture similar to chestnuts. They can be ground into a powder and used in making biscuits. The seeds have a high starch content and about 5% protein. When boiling the seeds, the water is sometimes changed 2 or three times in order to remove an objectionable odour. Very young fruits and leaf shoots - cooked in soups and stews. Young male flowers are eaten mixed with chillies, sugar, salt etc. There can be 100-500 seed in a fruit. Unlike breadfruit, there are no seedless Jackfruit. When ripe the unopened fruit has a strong smell.

Traditional Uses

The flesh of ripe fruits can be eaten raw. Unripe fruit can be cooked and eaten as a vegetable. They are fried in curries, preserved in syrup, dried, cooked in milk or made into alcoholic drinks. Caution: Alcohol is a cause of cancer. Unripe fruit are pickled. The seeds (5%) can be roasted and eaten. They are also boiled. (Some kinds have more seeds). The young leaves and flowers are edible. They are eaten mixed with chilis, fish paste, sugar, salt etc.

Medicinal Uses

Abortifacient Antiasthmatic Antidiarrhoeal Aphrodisiac Febrifuge Mouthwash Sedative Skin Stomachic Tonic Vermifuge The ashes of leaves, with or without oil, are used to treat ulcers, diarrhoea, boils, stomach-ache and wounds. The pulp and seeds of the fruit are regarded as a cooling tonic. The seeds are said to be an aphrodisiac. The sap is an anti-syphilitic and a vermifuge. The wood is claimed to have sedative properties, and its pith is said to be able to induce abortion. A root decoction is used to alleviate fever, treat diarrhoea, skin diseases and asthma. The bacteriolytic activity of the latex is equal to that of papaya latex. Dried latex yields artotenone, a compound with marked androgenic action; it can also be mixed with vinegar to promote healing of abscesses, snakebite and glandular swellings.

Distribution

A tropical plant. It grows in the tropical lowlands and up to about 1200 m altitude. It grows in Nepal up to 800 m altitude. It can stand some drought, but not water-logging. Trees do best where there is year round rainfall. An annual rainfall between 1,000-2,400 mm is best. It yields poorly where humidity is low. It does best in a well drained, frost-free location that is warm and sunny. They are slightly more tolerant of cold than breadfruit. It suits areas with a temperature range 22-35°C. Trees can survive occasional frosts down to 0°C. It is best with a pH of 6-6.5. They have some wind and salt tolerance. It grows between 25°N and 30°S. In XTBG Yunnan. It suits hardiness zones 10-12.

Where It Grows

Africa, Amazon, Andamans, Asia, Australia, Bali, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Fiji, Ghana, Guam, Guianas, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Himalayas, India*, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Northeastern India, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South America, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Uganda, USA, Vanuatu, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, West Timor, Yap,

Cultivation

Trees are usually sown from seeds, but it is best to sow them in their final location as the plants don't transplant easily. They have a long delicate taproot which makes transplanting difficult. Fresh seed must be used (less than 4 weeks). If fresh seed are planted immediately they grow more quickly and more seeds germinate. It is better to use larger seed. The fleshy layer around the seeds should be removed. Seeds can be soaked in water for 24 hours to give better germination. It is best to sow seeds with the embryo pointing downwards and also with the narrow end pointing downwards. Seeds germinate in 3-8 weeks. A spacing of 12 m is suitable. Where trees are used as a wind break, trees are spaced 6 m apart. Air-layering can be used, and stem cuttings are also possible. Air layering is best done in the rainy season. Rooting hormones can be used to help roots develop. The shoots used for air layering should be 2-3 years old and brown in colour. To produce air layers, a small branch 3-4 cm across, is cut below a node and only part way around the stem. A ring 5-7 cm wide is cut and a layer of sand wrapped around the stem and covered with plastic. Using 1% IBA growth substances helps shoots to strike and form roots. Roots form in about 22 days and the stem can be cut off and planted after about 2-3 months. Because trees vary in their growth rate, how quickly they flower and fruit, and in the fruit quality, it is best to grow plants by using vegetative parts from good trees. This can be done by budding or grafting onto 12 month old seedlings already established in the field. Budding and grafting are not easy with jackfruit. Because the fruit develops on the trunk, early pruning to allow 2-3 trunks to develop is helpful. As well, trees can be topped to prevent them becoming too tall and large.

Propagation

Seed - under suitable conditions, germination begins within 10 days, and 80-100% germination is achieved within 35-40 days after sowing. The seed quickly loses viability and so should be sown as soon as possible. Seedlings produce a long taproot and can be difficult to transplant, so it is best to pot them up into deep pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and to plant them out into their permanent positions as soon as possible. The seed germinates best at a temperature of 24 - 27°c. Root cuttings. Air layering. Stem cuttings are also possible. Air layering is best done in the rainy season. Rooting hormones can be used to help roots develop. The shoots used for air layering should be 2-3 years old and brown in colour. To produce air layers, a small branch 3-4 cm across, is cut below a node and only part way around the stem. A ring 5-7 cm wide is cut and a layer of sand wrapped around the stem and covered with plastic. Using 1% IBA growth substances helps shoots to strike and form roots. Roots form in about 22 days and the stem can be cut off and planted after about 2-3 months.

Other Uses

Adhesive Dye Fodder Fuel Gum Houseplant Latex Resin Soil stabilization String Tannin Varnish Weaving Wood Other uses rating: Medium (3/5). Suitable for growing indoors. Agroforestry Uses: The tree has a wide-ranging root system and can be planted to control floods and soil erosion in farms. It is suitable for use in reforestation projects. The tree is often used in mixed plantings. It can be used as a shade tree for coffee, planted with coconut groves, has been used as an intercrop in durian orchards, and with mango and citrus. Young jackfruit orchards may be intercropped with annual cash crops such as banana, sweet corn and groundnut. Other Uses The inner part of the bark or bast is occasionally made into cordage or cloth. The latex obtained from the trunk and branches yields 71.8% resin, consisting of 63.3% fluavilles (yellow) and 8.5% albanes (white). These resins may be valuable in varnishes. The latex is commonly used as adhesive for mending broken chinaware or earthenware, caulking boats, mending holes of buckets and trapping birds. In India and Brazil, the latex serves as a substitute for rubber. The bark yields a dark, water-soluble resinous gum that contains 3.3% tannin. When boiled with alum, the sawdust or chips of the heartwood produce a rich yellow dye used for silk and the cotton robes of Buddhist priests. Wood is yellow at first, becoming red. It is classified as medium hardwood. It is resistant to termite attack and fungal and bacterial decay and is easy to season. It takes polish beautifully. Though not as strong as teak, it is considered superior to that wood for furniture, construction, turnery and inlay work, masts, oars, implements and musical instruments. The wood is widely used in India and Sri Lanka and is even exported to Europe. Roots are highly prized for carvings and picture framing. The wood is used for fuel. Special Uses Carbon Farming Food Forest

Production

Jackfruit is a fast growing tree. They can be 7 m tall by 3 years old. Trees begin bearing after about 8 years. The fruiting season lasts about 4 months in subtropical places, but fruit can be produced year round in tropical places. Fruit take about 100 to 120 days from when the flower is pollinated until a fully mature fruit is developed but can take another 4 months to ripen. Trees tend to have heavy crops every second year. Pollination is by wind but hand pollination has been used to improve the amount of fruit set. Fruit can be up to 50 kg in weight. Fruit change from green to yellow when mature. Up to 250 fruit can be produced each year on large trees. Fruit do not store well but can be kept in a cool store for 4-6 weeks at 11°-12°C and with high humidity.

Other Information

Gaining importance in some areas of Papua New Guinea, such as the Sepik. At present it is mainly only the seeds that are eaten. In some areas of Bangladesh it is a very important food. It is a cultivated food plant. It is sold in local markets.

Notes

Jackfruit wood is a useful timber. There are about 50 Artocarpus species. They are in the tropics and subtropics of Asia and the Pacific. It possibly has anti-cancer properties. Fruit are high in folates 53-84μg/100.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ampalibe, Banun, Bu luo mi, Cempedak hutan, Ekifenensi, Fene, Herali, Jaca-dura, Jaca-mole, Jaca, Jacquier, Jak, Jakobo, Jangphong, Jaquero, Kaathal, Kadal, Kaihal, Kanoon, Kanthal, Katahal, Katahar, Kathal ke beej, Kathal, Katthar, Khanum, Khanun, Khatal, Khnaor, Kifenensi, Kos, Kothal, Kulu jaka, Lamasa, Lamkhong, Lamkhuang, Langka, Long di biu, Ma mi, Mak lang, Makmi, Malasa, Ma mi, Mfenesi mfuu, Mfenesi, Mfenesi, Mi duo luo, Miiz hnang, Miiz, Mit, Moe ulu initia, Mung-dung, Murasabalam, Nangka, Ndung, Nongko, Pala, Pana, Panasa chettu, Pandicho, Panwe, Peignai, Peinne, Phanas, Pilaka, Pilapalam, Plavu, Podushi, Pohon nangka, Polos, Rima, Sakkeyo, Tak bela, Te mai rekereke, Thaiphlung, Thaipung, Theibong, Tshackka, Tsjaka, Uto ni idia, Varaka, Yaca, Yakobo

References (207)

• Jackfruit references
• AAK, 1980, Bertanam Pohon Buah-buahan. Penerbitan Yayasan Kanisius, Jogyakarta. p 76 (As Artocarpus integra)
• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 42
• Ajesh, T. P., et al, 2012, Ethnobotanical Documentation of Wild Edible Fruits used by Muthuvan Tribes of Idukki, Kerala-India. International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences 3(3): 479-487
• Alexander, D.M., Scholefield, P.B., Frodsham, A., 1982, Some tree fruits for tropical Australia. CSIRO, Australia. p 27

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