Published: December 17, 2018, 9:53am | Modified: June 19, 2019, 1:42pm
One of the most overlooked fruits in Florida is the Jack Fruit. Here is some basic information about how you can grow this fruit in your garden at home.
What is Jackfruit?
Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) is a tropical tree native to western India that has been cultivated in Florida for more than a century. But now, with superior varieties available and propagation and growing techniques updated, it's time to take advantage of its potential for production. If you grow Jackfruit, you will certainly get your neighbors’ attention. This tree, which grows 30 to 40 feet tall, produces a fruit that can weight up to 60 pounds. There are a few cultivars that produce smaller fruits that only weigh 3 to 10 pounds.
The Fruit
The outside of the fruit is rough and thick, but the inside contains a pulp that is sweet and aromatic. The pulp color can vary from amber to yellow to dark yellow or orange. The time it takes from flowering to a mature fruit ranges from 150 to 180 days. The fruit has thick sharp spines all around the surface and is dark green in color on the exterior. One characteristic is that the spines have a zigzag structure and don't flatten as the fruit matures. Black Gold produces about 150 pounds of fruit per tree on average. In Florida fruit generally ripens in the fall. For optimum fruit production, trees should be watered during prolonged dry spells.
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