How to grow jackfruit from seed, and can it be grown in the north?

Jackfruit grows in tropical climates, is highly nutritious, and is a very popular fruit. Inside the flesh of the jackfruit are wrapped seeds, so some people want to use jackfruit seeds to grow jackfruit. So, how should you plant them so that they grow into a jackfruit tree? Can this tree grow in the north? Let's take a detailed look below.

How to grow jackfruit from seed

1. Site selection

Jackfruit likes a warm, humid tropical climate. It is not cold-tolerant, and the planting site requires an annual average temperature ≥21°C, average temperature of the coldest month ≥13°C, and absolute minimum temperature ≥0°C. It is not demanding about soil and can grow normally in deep, fertile, loose, well-drained acidic soil, and in slightly alkaline clay or sandy loam. Cultivation on low hills or flat land below 600 m elevation is best.

2. Seed propagation

For jackfruit, during the main ripening period select fully mature, normally developed, pest- and disease-free dry-pod fruits for seed selection, wash them clean with water, then spread them flat on a sand bed to germinate, and cover the sand bed with 1-2 cm of fine sand, then cover with a layer of rice straw, watering 1-2 times daily; after about 1 week they will successively sprout and root, and when the seedlings grow 1-2 true leaves they can be transplanted to separate beds.

3. Bud grafting propagation

Jackfruit seedlings can be bud-grafted once they have grown to more than 1 cm, using the patch bud grafting method. Select one-year-old, sun-facing, mature branches from superior varieties as scion wood; the scions should be kept moist during storage, and it is best to graft immediately after collecting. In Hainan, bud grafting can be done all year round, but the survival rate is higher during the rainy season and tree growth season from April to October, when the rootstock and scion peel easily and survive readily after grafting.

4. Orchard establishment and planting

For jackfruit, the row spacing is 5-6 m × 6-7 m, and planting holes 80 cm × 80 cm × 80 cm are dug; place weeds at the bottom of the hole, mix branches, leaves and 0.5 kg of lime, then backfill a layer of topsoil, and add pond mud, 30 kg of poultry and livestock manure and 0.5 kg of phosphate fertilizer. Jackfruit can be planted all year round, but spring planting (March-April) and autumn planting (September-November) are best. When planting, break up the soil in the planting hole finely and spread the seedling roots out straight, then press in fine soil in layers, keeping the root crown level with the ground. After planting, water thoroughly immediately to settle the roots, and cover the tree disc with plastic film.

Can jackfruit trees be grown in the north

Jackfruit trees cannot be grown in the north; the main reason is temperature. Jackfruit is a tropical fruit tree and can flower and fruit normally in areas with an annual average temperature ≥22°C, average temperature of the coldest month ≥13°C, and absolute minimum temperature >0°C. It originates in the Western Ghats of India. It is often cultivated in Guangdong, Hainan, Guangxi, Fujian and southern Yunnan in China. It is also cultivated in Nepal, Sikkim in India, Bhutan and Malaysia. It likes a tropical climate. It is suited to areas without frost and with abundant annual rainfall. It likes light and grows quickly; when young it is slightly shade-tolerant, likes deep, fertile soil, and dislikes waterlogging.

Growing conditions for jackfruit

Jackfruit likes hot, humid lowland environments and a warm, humid tropical climate. It is not cold-tolerant, and the planting site requires an annual average temperature above 21°C, average temperature of the coldest month above 13°C, and absolute minimum temperature above 0°C; a ground surface temperature of 0°C makes it prone to frost damage. It is not demanding about soil and can grow normally in deep, fertile, loose, well-drained acidic soil, and in slightly alkaline clay or sandy loam. Cultivation on low hills or flat land below 600 m elevation is best.

How to fertilize jackfruit trees

1. Young trees: young trees have a relatively shallow and narrow root distribution, so it is best to apply fertilizer frequently and lightly, preferably as a liquid feed drenched on. Generally, two fertilizer applications per flush is more reasonable, namely a shoot-promoting fertilizer and a shoot-strengthening fertilizer. Between before the branches and shoots sprout and when a small number of shoots have sprouted, in the first year apply 20 g of urea per tree each time to promote shoots. When most young shoots have grown 6 cm and the new leaves from the shoot base have changed from light green to dark green, apply compound fertilizer and potassium fertilizer to strengthen the shoots. In the first year apply (20 g compound fertilizer + 15 g potassium sulfate) per tree each time, increasing year by year thereafter.

2. Fruiting trees: fruiting trees are generally fertilized 3 times a year. Before the flower spikes emerge, apply a flower-promoting fertilizer, mainly compound fertilizer, with 1 kg compound fertilizer, 0.5 kg potassium sulfate and 5 kg manure water per tree. Apply the fruit-strengthening fertilizer during the young fruit stage, mainly nitrogen and potassium, to promote rapid fruit expansion, with 5 kg pig manure water, 0.5 kg urea, 0.5 kg compound fertilizer and 0.5 kg potassium sulfate per tree. Apply the post-harvest fertilizer in October together with renewal pruning; organic fertilizer should be applied heavily to promote the sprouting of adventitious buds and store nutrients for renewing the canopy, with 15 kg chicken manure, 0.5 kg urea, 1 kg compound fertilizer and 0.5 kg superphosphate per tree.

Although jackfruit seeds can be planted, growing a jackfruit tree is not an easy task, because of its unique climate and environmental requirements, planting requires a specific environment; perhaps the environment where you are is not suitable for its growth, but jackfruit seeds can be used as an ingredient to eat, and boiled they are a pretty good delicacy too.