Plantation of VNR Jackfruit Plants is one of the most important activities.
Time of Plantation: It depends upon the availability of water and weather conditions prevailing in the region. Plantation should be avoided during extreme hot, severe cold temperatures & heavy rains. This activity can be undertaken in the month of Feb. / March with recommended practices.
Steps of plantation:
| 1. | Carrying Plants to Field |
| 2. | Pit digging |
| 3. | Media Packet tearing (not cutting) |
| 4. | Placement of plant in pit |
| 5. | Soil Filling |
| 6. | Soil Levelling & Earthing up |
| 7. | Watering |
Step 1. – Carrying Plants to Field
The safety of graft/bud union is of prime concern while transferring plants from storage area to field where it needs to be planted.
The following should be taken care of while carrying plants to field.
- Use crates/baskets for carrying plants.
- Keep the plants vertically erect/straight.
- Plants should not be overloaded in crates/baskets.
Plants being carried in crates.
Step 2: Making holes for plantation.
At the time of plantation, a hole slightly bigger than the size of packet containing soil and plant is dug.
| STEPS | IMAGES |
| A hole slightly bigger than the size of packet is required. |  |
| Remove the soil from the hole for placement of plant. |  |
| Hole ready for plantation |  |
Step 3: Tearing the polybag
Before plantation, the polybag containing media / soil needs to be removed.
| Dos’ | IMAGES |
| Remove media packet manually. |  |
| Don’ts | |
| Do not use any sharp object like cutter or scissor to cut the media packet bag. Use of sharp objects may cut the arterial/main root section of the plant which may lead to plant mortality. |  |
Step 4: Placement of plant in the hole
Placement of plant in hole is an important factor during transplantation. The depth of pit should be little bigger than media packet.
| Don’ts | Images |
| Avoid placement of plant above the bed level. |  |
| Deep placement will provide an opportunity to scion for root development and emergence of such roots will ultimately lead to infection. |  |
| Dos’ | |
| Top layer of soil media (plant) should align with surface of bed in a manner that the graft/bud union should be minimum 6 inches above the ground. |  |
Step 5: Soil Filling
Fill soil around the cavity of pit evenly spread out. While filling, ensure that soil is not raised towards the stem of the plant and be kept only at ground level.
Step 6: Soil levelling / Earthing up
| It is important not to earthen up soil level on plants. Earthing up will induce root development from scion which is not desirable. Caution: Many growers make raised beds after plantation or increase the soil level on the plant stem. This is damaging hence to be avoided. |  |
| Right Method – Graft union above 6 inches of the soil surface. |  |
Step 7: Watering
- VNR Jackfruit plants need almost 8 – 10 liters of water immediately after plantation.
- Initial watering / irrigation facilitates joining of plant soil with field soil.
- Regular watering / irrigation ensures development of a better root system.
| Post Plantation – watering of the plant |  |
