What causes fruit cracking in jackfruit? How to prevent it

Jackfruit is a tropical fruit. Its appearance is similar to that of durian, but the flesh is completely different, and its weight far exceeds that of durian. It is the heaviest fruit in the world, generally weighing 5-20 kg. Its fruit is highly prone to cracking when ripe, which is a common physiological disorder of jackfruit. So what causes the fruit cracking, and how should it be prevented? Let's take a look at the detailed introduction below.

1. Causes of fruit cracking

The main cause of fruit cracking in jackfruit is that the fruit is too large. When the fruit swells and ripens, the rind is relatively thin and lacks toughness. If the temperature at this time is sometimes high with frequent rain, cracking is extremely likely to occur. Another cause is rain after a long drought or sudden clearing after prolonged rain. Watering should be controlled when the fruit is swelling rapidly; if watering is excessive, the fruit swells too quickly and the rind cannot bear it, causing cracking. In the early growth stage, because the climate and soil are too dry, the plant lacks water, and then sudden rainfall after fruit set can also cause fruit cracking. Conversely, a long rainy season in the early growth stage followed by sudden clearing can also cause cracking. These two phenomena mainly occur in summer, when high temperatures and frequent rain make the climate changeable. There is also another cause: cracking caused by a deficiency of calcium or other trace elements.

2. Symptoms

Fruit cracking generally appears as longitudinal splitting, with a few cases being transverse splitting. After the fruit cracks, the yellow-white flesh inside is exposed. After a period of time, pathogens invade through the crack, and black mold-like growth appears on the flesh, until it turns black and rots.

3. Preventive measures

Targeted control should be carried out according to the various causes of fruit cracking. During the young fruit stage, apply more fruit-strengthening fertilizer, mainly organic fertilizer combined with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and increase the application of potassium, calcium and magnesium fertilizers. In addition, soil that is too compacted or too dry will affect the root system's absorption of nutrients, so fertilization can be combined with plowing. Deep plow the orchard soil to loosen it, allow the root system to spread, and improve its absorption capacity. When the soil is deficient in calcium, apply 50 kg of quicklime per mu to maintain the soil's calcium content, and foliar spraying of 0.5% calcium chloride gives even better results.

For the situation of rain after a long drought or sudden clearing after prolonged rain, preventive measures should be taken. During a long drought, water the orchard in time to avoid rapid fruit swelling caused by soil rainfall and resulting in fruit cracking. Likewise, during prolonged rain, take good drainage and waterlogging prevention measures to avoid excessive water accumulation that causes root soaking or affects the root system's absorption of nutrients and calcium, thereby preventing fruit cracking.

The above are the causes of and preventive measures for fruit cracking in jackfruit. I hope it can help you. If you want to learn more about jackfruit cultivation, please stay tuned to us.