• Latest
THE WONDERS OF JACKFRUIT

THE WONDERS OF JACKFRUIT

January 30, 2023
Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

March 3, 2023
Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

March 3, 2023
DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

March 3, 2023
A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

A Walk Down Cobblers’ Street

March 3, 2023
The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

The Colombo Cultural Show: A Soiree into Sri Lanka’s Heart

February 7, 2023
Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

Kandy Central Market: The epitome of local ambiance

February 7, 2023
The Art of Local Writing

The Art of Local Writing

February 7, 2023
Carnival Magic

Carnival Magic

February 7, 2023
Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

Ponniyin Selvan 1: Leveraging the Lure of History and the Power of Storytelling

January 11, 2023
Rumination and Emotional Process

Rumination and Emotional Process

January 13, 2023
Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

Segar Represents Sri Lanka in Asia Art Bienniale in Dhaka

January 11, 2023
Good Conversations Start with Mlesna

Good Conversations Start with Mlesna

January 11, 2023
Retail
Saturday, March 18, 2023
Subscription
Advertise
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
        • January 2010
        • February 2010
        • March 2010
        • April 2010
        • May 2010
        • June 2010
        • July 2010
        • August 2010
        • September 2010
        • October 2010
        • November 2010
        • December 2010
      • 2011
        • January 2011
        • February 2011
        • March 2011
        • April 2011
        • May 2011
        • June 2011
        • July 2011
        • August 2011
        • September 2011
        • October 2011
        • November 2011
        • December 2011
      • 2012
        • January 2012
        • February 2012
        • March 2012
        • April 2012
        • May 2012
        • June 2012
        • July 2012
        • August 2012
        • September 2012
        • October 2012
        • November 2012
        • December 2012
      • 2013
        • January 2013
        • February 2013
        • March 2013
        • April 2013
        • May 2013
        • June 2013
        • July 2013
        • August 2013
        • September 2013
        • October 2013
        • November 2013
        • December 2013
      • 2014
        • January 2014
        • February 2014
        • March 2014
        • April 2014
        • May 2014
        • June 2014
        • July 2014
        • August 2014
        • September 2014
        • October 2014
        • November 2014
        • December 2014
      • 2015
        • January 2015
        • February 2015
        • March 2015
        • April 2015
        • May 2015
        • June 2015
        • July 2015
        • August 2015
        • September 2015
        • October 2015
        • November 2015
        • December 2015
      • 2016
        • January 2016
        • February 2016
        • March 2016
        • April 2016
        • May 2016
        • June 2016
        • July 2016
        • August 2016
        • September 2016
        • October 2016
        • November 2016
        • December 2016
      • 2017
        • January 2017
        • February 2017
        • March 2017
        • April 2017
        • May 2017
        • June 2017
        • July 2017
        • August 2017
        • September 2017
        • October 2017
        • November 2017
        • December 2017
      • 2018
        • January 2018
        • February 2018
        • March 2018
        • April 2018
        • May 2018
        • June 2018
        • July 2018
        • August 2018
        • November 2018
        • December 2018
      • 2019
        • January 2019
        • February 2019
        • March 2019
        • April 2019
        • May 2019
        • June 2019
        • July 2019
        • August 2019
        • September 2019
        • October 2019
        • November 2019
        • December 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
        • January 2020
        • February 2020
        • March 2020
        • September 2020
        • October 2020
        • November 2020
        • December 2020
      • 2021
        • January 2021
        • February 2021
        • March 2021
        • April 2021
        • May 2021
        • June 2021
        • July 2021
        • August 2021
        • September 2021
        • October 2021
        • November 2021
        • December 2021
      • 2022
        • January 2022
        • February 2022
        • March 2022
        • April 2022
        • May 2022
        • June 2022
        • July 2022
        • August 2022
        • September 2022
        • October 2022
        • November 2022
        • December 2022
      • 2023
        • January 2023
        • February 2023
        • March 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result

THE WONDERS OF JACKFRUIT

in Featured, May 2021
0 0
0

Growing up in a culture where the jackfruit was eaten as a sweet juicy fruit and cooked as a vegetable, one certainly knows that with a jackfruit tree you can live a food-filled life of one flake at a time. The Jackfruit tree provides many benefits and its timber is one of the best.

Words Jennifer Paldano Goonewardane. Photographs Menaka Aravinda.

only second to our staple rice, the jackfruit tree is dubbed the ‘tree of rice’ not without reason. It was first introduced from Malaysia in 1918 by Arthur V Dias. His visionary hindsight grasped the ubiquitous nature of jackfruit to make the country self-sufficient as rice cultivation got neglected under the colonial yoke while the wars and plagues of the time induced extreme food shortages. With time this fruit has become ‘nativized’ as an essential presence in our home gardens and gastronomic tradition.

Other than for consumption, the tree is used for timber and the tree parts for medicine. However, jackfruit remains as one of the most underutilized crops in Sri Lanka where only 20 percent is consumed and 10 percent is sold.

In Sri Lanka’s wet zone the tree thrives, but will yield a good harvest even in the intermediate and dry zones as it can tolerate long dry spells. The existing population of jackfruit trees are so numerous that there are distinct differences not only between the trees, but also the leaves, and the fruit, and from one tree to another. A protected tree in Sri Lanka, with an estimated 31,131 hectares of land cultivated, and 150,185,121 fruits produced annually, seed planting is the normal method of propagation, although grafted trees have become more cost-effective methods, which allow the tree to bear fruit in less than four years.

Sri Lanka has several jackfruit cultivars such as, Fatherlong, Maharagama, Kothmale, Hirosh, Mandoor and Singapore or Ceylon Jackfruit. At the height of the jackfruit season in Sri Lanka from March to June and minor season from November to January, there’ll be plenty of stalls selling flakes in different forms.

With a relatively high productivity of about 25.71 tons per hectare, a mature tree can yield from 10 to 200 fruits. The favorable weather condition for jackfruit is between 1000 – 1500 millimeters of rain, with temperature between 25 – 35°C and an elevation of up to 1000 meters.

Sunlight is vital for growth. The soil must be fertile, ideally, made of clay, loam and silt, the pit size being at least three feet in depth and width, filled with top soil and compost manure. Generally the ground is prepared two weeks ahead of planting, when a combination of 10 kilograms of organic manure (compost) is mixed with the top soil. The application of organic fertilizer continues through the first year of growth and after, applied once in six months, gradually reducing to around five kilograms, assessed according to the width of the canopy, which would be around one kilogram of fertilizer per square kilometer. As the tree can’t tolerate too much moisture, irrigating has to be done cautiously in the initial stages lest the roots decay. Good moisture drainage is crucial to growth. While the wet and the intermediate zones experience intermittent rainfall, the best way to gauge water requirement is to observe the level of aridness around the soil and the plant. Moreover, excessive soil moisture during flowering and fruiting will affect the quality of the fruit. Uprooting weed around the growing tree is important to retain the nutrients in the soil. If properly nurtured, a tree grows rapidly in the first four years, reaching a height of up to 1.5-2 meters annually.

The jackfruit cultivars are classified into ‘Vela’ and ‘Waraka’ – soft and firm variety according to the texture of the flake. Rich in carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals and dietary fiber, the flakes in ‘vela’ and ‘waraka’ exhibit a wide diversity in color, from cream, light yellow, yellow, deep yellow, light saffron, saffron, deep saffron, to an orange. Generally, the flesh of ‘vela’ is soft, rubbery, and spongy. ‘Waraka’, is crunchy with crisp flakes and is considered more desirable for consumption and better preserved and hence, high in quality. As the fruit matures at 12 to 16 weeks, the smell surrounding the tree is an indication for harvesting, along with the change in the surface color from green to a greenish yellow and the hollow sound that it releases when the surface is tapped. The weight of a fruit may vary between two and 20 kilograms; larger fruits of about 50 kilograms have also been recorded.

Jackfruit can be the ‘poster child’ to showcase the link between food and culture; our skill and knowledge surrounding harvesting, cutting, and cleaning, the recipes and preparation and preservation. It is, after all a meal staple. The fruit’s flakes are boiled and consumed with grated coconut or grated coconut relish known as ‘pol sambol’, which is filling and astoundingly scrumptious, it suffices for the everyday rice-lunch of the natives. Mature flakes cut and cooked to a thick dish in coconut milk is ‘Kiri kos’, meaning milk jackfruit, a dish given to new mothers to increase lactation. The red hot ‘polos’ curry made from the tender fruit is the quintessential dish for rice, milk rice, or string hoppers because it is full of spice seasonings and culinary herbs. Cooked in coconut milk, it tingles and brims with exotic flavors.

Boiled ‘polos’ can also be pickled in a combination of mustard paste, vinegar, and salt or cut finely to be combined with mustard and pepper- infused grated coconut to prepare a ‘malluma’. This wonder fruit is a vegan’s delight as it’s the new meat that can make fleshy fillings for short eats. One of its best long-term usages locally is dried flakes known as ‘Atu Kos’, prepared by boiling unripe mature bulbs in salt-infused water until it turns pale and sun-dried for at least four days prior to being stored in a stove hood built above the hearth in the kitchen – the ‘Dum Messa’. Or else, stored in an airtight container or bag. This can be cooked, boiled, or deep-fried. Similarly, fresh seeds (kos ata) can be well-preserved in sand and retrieved when required.

Despite these benefits, the jackfruit is not widely grown as a commercial crop in Sri Lanka owing to the wide variations in fruit quality and the time taken to bear fruit, which vary between three to seven years for trees originating from seedlings, whereas grafted trees can be better managed by maintaining a maximum height of 15 meters by pruning during growth and is bushier and will bear fruit after two years, allowing the fruits to be harvested with a ladder or fruit picker. Significantly, the Singapore or Ceylon Jackfruit tree begins to bear fruit by its third year.

In a bid to promote commercial farming in jackfruit, the Department of Agriculture is developing dwarf varieties for high density planting in Sri Lanka. High density planting involves bushy varieties, which will allow a large number of high yielding trees to be planted in a hectare. While a distance of at least 20 meters is required between grafted trees, the dwarf varieties will require only 15 meters spacing between them. The cultural practices surrounding ground and soil preparation, and fertilizer use and harvesting will be easier, and thus, reduce the cost of labor in high density planting.

Meanwhile, the red jackfruit is the ‘new kid on the block’; promoted by the Department of Agriculture, nearly 500 trees of this variety have been planted, which will take at least another two years for fruition. With its minimal fluid content, glassy appearance and texture, and longer shelf life of up to two weeks, it’s hoped that it will take off as a commercial crop.

As we live in unprecedented times, it’s not too late to plant a jackfruit tree. Unlike before, newer grafted dwarf varieties yield fruit in a shorter time and are easier to pluck and ideal for today’s little homesteads. A step further would be to promote the fruit commercially by introducing high- density planting for easy harvesting and management. Simultaneously, newer varieties, such as the red jackfruit, a high-yield semi-dwarf tree, that can be stored longer following harvesting can be an excellent start to a consistent program.

Information provided by:
Mangala Agalakumbura
Assistant Director of Agriculture Fruit Crop Research and Development Center

Department of Agriculture Horana

TweetShareShare

Search

No Result
View All Result

Recent News

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Investec Cape Town Art Fair

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

Explore Sri Lanka

Explore Sri Lanka Online, the web edition of Sri Lanka’s leading monthly corporate publication. Founded in 1996, the magazine currently has a distribution of over 6,000 copies island-wide.

Recent News

  • Investec Cape Town Art Fair
  • Discipline and Precepts are Favorable for Self-Development
  • DY Patil University Centre of Excellence Opens in Navi Mumbai

Find Us

Explore Sri Lanka
20-2/1 Lauries Place Facing
R. A. De Mel Mawatha
Colombo 04
Sri Lanka.
(+94 11) 259 7991
(+94) 715 134 134
info@btoptions.com
btoptions.com

  • Terms & Conditions
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Issues
    • 201_
      • 2010
      • 2011
      • 2012
      • 2013
      • 2014
      • 2015
      • 2016
      • 2017
      • 2018
      • 2019
    • 202_
      • 2020
      • 2021
      • 2022
      • 2023
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Archive
  • Find Us on Magzter

© 2022 Explore Sri Lanka | Designed by Lithic Labs

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In