How do you plant jackfruit seeds so they sprout and survive easily?

Jackfruit is a nutritious fruit, and it is a tropical tree species that serves as both a woody food source and a valuable timber tree. We know its seeds are also edible, so do you know how to plant jackfruit seeds?

1. Seed selection

The seeds should preferably be selected from local jackfruit varieties with strong stress resistance and adaptability. Use fresh seeds removed from the fruit, and the time should not exceed 48 hours. The seeds are required to be mature, plump, smooth on the outside, and free of spots. They must have no external injuries and no damage from pests or diseases.

2. Washing the seeds

The selected seeds should be placed into clean water immediately and rubbed and washed by hand, preferably for 2-3 minutes. They must be washed clean. Rub and wash them twice like this to clean off the fruit pulp and sugar on the seeds.

3. Sterilisation and disinfection

For the sterilising and disinfecting agent, use carbendazim at 500-800 times dilution plus new high-lipid film at 800 times dilution. Add 15 kg of clean water to the prepared solution, pour the seeds into the solution, and let the seeds soak for 2-3 minutes. Next, make preparations for raising seedlings in a sand bed.

4. Making the sand bed

Use fine river sand for the sprouting bed, with a moisture requirement of 25%. If it does not stick to your hand when squeezed and can immediately scatter apart, then this river sand can be considered acceptable. First spread 10-15 cm of sandy soil as the base sand, and it must be spread level; scraping it level with a thin wooden board is best.

5. Sprouting

After spreading the base sand, slowly lay the treated seeds on the sand bed, and let the seeds spread out so as not to hinder sprouting. After laying out the seeds, cover the seeds with a layer of surface sand. A thickness of about 2 cm is enough.

6. Sand bed management

If the temperature is between 18-30°C, about 20 days of sprouting is enough. If the weather is 8-18°C, sprouting will take about 35 days. Observe the dry and wet condition of the sand bed and water it promptly. The number of waterings is not fixed; the principle is to keep the soil surface moist. After sprouting, remove the weeds. At this point we will see that the young sprouts have grown to 3-5 cm tall.

There are many types of jackfruit varieties. According to the taste of the flesh, they are divided into two major types: “dry-pack type” and “wet-pack type”. The former grows slightly slower, bears large but few fruits, ripens late, and its flesh is dry, smooth, crisp, sweet and strongly aromatic. The latter has strong adaptability, grows fast, bears many fruits that are slightly smaller, ripens early, has fewer pests and diseases, and its flesh is soft and tastes even sweeter and richer. For fruit use, vegetative propagation should be used to maintain good traits. For timber use, the wet-pack type should be selected, and seed propagation is usually used.