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Artocarpus heterophyllus
Moraceae FAMILY

Artocarpus heterophyllus

Artocarpus heterophyllus

Edibility
5/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Tree
GrowthFast

A plant of the humid lowland tropics, growing best at an elevation below 1,000 metres, with a mean annual temperature in the range 24 - 28°c, a mean max temperature of 32 - 35°c, a mean minimum temperature of 16 - 20°c, and a mean annual rainfall in the range 900 - 4,000mm evenly distributed through the year[1]. Prefers a climate without a dry season, but can tolerate a short dry season[2]. Jackfruits can grow at higher elevations than the breadfruit and also in cooler and drier climates[3, 1]. They can even succeed in warm temperate areas, but they remain small and any fruit is of poor quality[3]. Trees can bear fruit at latitudes up to 30° from the equator, with good crops up to 25° distant[1]. Succeeds in a variety of soils[4]. Prefers a deep, well-drained alluvial soil[3]. Prefers a pH in the range 5.5 - 7.5, tolerating 4.3 - 8[5]. Young plants need some shade, but need increasing light levels as they mature[3]. Mature plants are relatively drought resistant[4]. Plants have poor drought tolerance[5]. There are two main groups of cultivars, one group has soft rinds whilst the other has hard[6]. Jackfruits produce one of the largest fruits in the world[3]. The trees have a deep taproot[1]. Plants can produce their first crop within 3 years of the seed germinating, but 8 years is a more common time[4, 5]. Flower and fruit loads are initially low and improve with increasing size and age; trees 2 years old produce about 25 flowers and 3 fruits; trees 5 years old bear as many as 840 flowers, and trees 6 years old 1,500 flowers[1]. However, only 15-18 fruits develop due to the low production of female spikes (about 0.6-5% of the total number of inflorescences[1]. Young trees bear more male than female flowers at a ratio of 4:1; production of female flower increases with age. A male-to-female ratio of 2:1 produces 250 fruits per tree, and as the trees ages, fruit productivity declines[1]. In suitable environments trees bear fruits and flowers throughout the year, but in areas with distinct dry and wet seasons, flowering occurs in the wet season[1]. In young trees, fruits are usually borne on branches and in older trees, on trunks and roots[1]. Jackfruit exhibits fairly rapid growth, attaining a height of 3 metres and a canopy diameter of 2 metres at 2 years of age. In 5 years, the tree height reaches 7 metres and the canopy diameter 4 metres; trees 20 years old are about 18 metres, as tree growth slows down with age[1].

Propagation

Seed - under suitable conditions, germination begins within 10 days, and 80-100% germination is achieved within 35-40 days after sowing[1]. The seed quickly loses viability and so should be sown as soon as possible[4]. 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 - 27c[3]. Root cuttings. Air layering. Cite as: Tropical Plants Database, Ken Fern. tropical.theferns.info. 2026-02-19. <tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Artocarpus+heterophyllus>

Pollinators

Insects, Wind

References

  1. [1]World Agroforesty Centre — http://www.worldagroforestry.org/ ↩︎An excellent online database of a huge range of trees giving very good information on each plant - its uses, ecology, identity, propagation, pests etc.
  2. [2]Journal of the Arnold Arboretum. Vol. 40 — Harvard University; Boston, Mass. · 1959 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Contains a treatment of the genus Artocarpus, section Artocarpus. It can be downloaded from the Internet.
  3. [3]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  4. [4]Tropical Food Gardens — Norrington. L. · Bloomings Books (Melbourne) · 2001 · ISBN 1-876473-41-x ↩︎Excellent little book giving some basic information on a range of plants.
  5. [5]Ecocrop — http://ecocrop.fao.org/ecocrop/srv/en/home ↩︎Basic information on a wide range of useful plants, plus details of environmental needs where available.
  6. [6]Dictionary of Economic Plants. — Uphof. J. C. Th. · Weinheim · 1959 · ISBN - ↩︎An excellent and very comprehensive guide but it only gives very short descriptions of the uses without any details of how to utilize the plants. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]Perennial Edible Fruits of the Tropics : an Inventory — Martin, F. W.; Campbell, C. W.; Rubertbe, R. M. · U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service · 1987 ↩︎A booklet giving terse details of almost 300 species of edible fruits, plus regional lists of Botanical and Common names for over 2,500 less well-known edible fruits of the tropics.
  8. [8]Flora of Pakistan — http://www.efloras.org ↩︎As of 2006, there is not much information on habitats available, but it is being developed and promises to be an excellent resource.
  9. [9]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
  10. [10]Nuts. — Howes. F. N. · Faber · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎Rather old but still a masterpiece. Has sections on tropical and temperate plants with edible nuts plus a section on nut plants in Britain. Very readable.
  11. [11]Tree Flora of Sabah and Sarawak Vols 1 - 6 — Soepadmo E.; Saw L.G.; Chung R.C.K. (Editors) · Forest Research Institute Malaysia; Kuala Lumpur. · 2002 · ISBN 983-2181-27-5 ↩︎A flora of the woody plants of Sabah and Sarawak on the island of Borneo, often giving details of plant uses.
  12. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎