These are seeds that I started in late November all growing vigorously. Thanks to my friend Chris H. who sent me some seeds for free what a nice guy! It looks like all but one germinated and it may sprout yet. I plan to use the six plants that show the most vigorous growth to plant out in the yard, then I can top work (a form of
grafting) them in the future if necessary(*see below). Here's a little more on propagation.
You see there are two ways to propagate Jackfruit
SeedsPros:
• A simple and easy method of reproducing the trees.
The tree is generally deep rooted with a strong taproot facilitating firm anchorage, and greater resistance to drought as well as high wind.*
This is very important in Florida.Cons:
•
The characteristics of fruits produced by the seedling trees cannot be guaranteed, and are not necessarily the same as those of the mother tree.*
This would be my reason for grafting.
• The time taken by seedling trees to reach fruit-bearing age is usually longer than for those trees propagated by vegetative methods.
• The trees grow taller than those propagated by vegetative methods, which is a constraint in management and harvesting.
Vegetative propagation• Vegetative propagation can be carried out by different methods. Veneer and epicotyl grafting are commonly practiced in jackfruit in Asia (Haq, 2006). Details are described in Section 5.
• Fruiting and fruit quality of vegetatively propagated trees are the same as those of the mother tree.
• Vegetative propagation is particularly favored in Thailand.
Pros:
•
The fruit quality of the new tree is assured; it will be the same as the mother tree. *This may be necessary to have the best quality fruit.• The tree reaches fruit-bearing age sooner than in seed-propagated trees.
• The trees remain relatively shorter in stature, which makes management and harvesting easier.
Cons:
•
The trees are often shallow rooted. *That will work well in South Florida, seriously though this could be a problem.• Trees tend to be dwarf and to produce branches at a low level, which results in lower quality timber with a shorter trunk.
(1)Ok, so you see what I've underlined. And I've given an explanation of why this would be a pro or con here in South Florida. So to get the best of both worlds I plant out these seedlings. Then, if these seedlings end up producing inferior fruit or are slow to produce, I will
graft onto to the already established seedlings, with their long taproots, with scions from more esteemed cultivars.
This Photo Taken 11-01-2008 @ RFVC 208 GardenFamily: Moraceae •
Genus:
Artocarpus •
Species:
heterophyllus •
Country of Origin: India, Bangladesh, Nepal & Sri Lanka •
Common Names: Jackfruit, Jak-fruit, Jak, Jaca •
The largest tree borne fruit in the world. This is a large tree that can reach 30 to 70 feet high. Although, I doubt it will get that big here in South Florida. The edible arils
(2) taste like Bubble Yum™ bubblegum and bananas. I had one but it died, I'm a terrible gardener, ha-hah. I think these seedlings are going to do well stay tuned for updates. And hopefully, I won't have to wait long for fruit, most sources say that this species is precocious, it may start fruiting after three to four years!
(3)
(1)International Center for Underutilized Crops: Jackfruit Manual(2)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aril(3)JackFruit Growing In Florida University of Florida
Jackfruit Seedlings by
Eric Bronson is licensed under a
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