Flower is an equally fascinating part of the tree. Before the massive fruit develops, jackfruit trees produce small, clustered flowers that play a vital role in fruit formation.
Jackfruit is monoecious i.e. male and female spikes are borne separately on the same tree. Only a single stamen and pistil represent the male and female flowers, respectively.
The female spikes- are solitary or in pairs on special leafy branches that grow out of the trunk and large branches called ‘footstalk’, and have thicker peduncle than the male inflorescence and often have a distinct fleshy ring at the base. Male spikes are produced in the footstalk and leafy shoot.
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| Unopened (reproductive) flower bud | Opened flower (male / female spike) |
Jackfruit is a multiple fruit i.e. a single fruit is a result of numerous fused fruitlets.
- The flowers of jackfruit are pollinated by wind and insect.
- Jackfruit being a multiple fruit, there is a fair chance that all the flowers might not get pollinated and fail to develop fruitlets. This leads to deform shaped fruits.
- Thus, manual pollination eases to achieve uniform and attractive fruits.
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| Manually pollinated fruit | Naturally pollinated fruit |
Few technical terms to be familiar within respect of VNR Jackfruit Plants cultivation.
“Pollination– Artificial pollination–Self-pollination–Cross pollination”
What is Pollination?
It is a process in which the pollen from male anther gets transferred to stigma of female flowers with the help of wind, insect, animal or human.
What are pollinating agents?
The medium which helps or enhances the chances of pollination are agents of pollination. In case of Jackfruit the pollinating agent are wind, insect and human.
What is self-pollination?
It is a process of pollination in which a female flower is pollinated from male pollens of the same flower or from the flower of same plant with the help of pollinating agents.
What is cross-pollination?
It is a process of pollination in which a female flower is pollinated from male pollens of different flower from different plant of same variety/species with the help of pollinating agents.
What is artificial/manual pollination?
When the process of transferring pollen involves any implement with human intervention than it is termed as artificial/manual pollination.
How is manual pollination beneficial?
- It enhances the proximity of more fruit set.
- Manual pollination assures uniform shape fruits.
IDENTIFICATION
Male Flower- The slender flower that rises with thin peduncle and small in size usually seen on branches and stem.
Female Flower- The club shaped flower that rises with thick peduncle and big in size.
Method of manual pollination –
- Select pollen laden male flowers, (the surface of these flowers looks whitish cream in colour).
- Remove the pollen laden male flower by cutting it with sharp blade/cutter.
- After removal of male flower, roll it (the pollen part) gently around the female flower.
- Tagging is important aspect after pollination to recognize the pollinated flowers.
The image shown pollination process in Jackfruit:
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| 1 | 2 | 3 |
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| 4 | 5 | 6 |
Gently rolling of Male flower on Female flower
For more details click here: – https://youtu.be/pQ_zrh8SjCk
References:
- https://www.growables.org/information/TropicalFruit/jackfruit.htm
- https://www.researchgate.net/publication/366894141_Flowering_Fruit_Set_and_Fruit_Development
- https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/276518/files/bangladesh-ag-uni-0139.pdf
