The Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, has made chocolate, biscuit, and squash from jackfruit. The technologies of preparing them are now ready for transfer, according to its director M.R. Dinesh.
On the sidelines of a two-day jackfruit festival which began here on Saturday, Mr. Dinesh told The Hindu that food processors who want the technologies for commercial production of the products would have to enter into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the institute and also pay the prescribed royalty.
The chocolate and biscuit have been made from jackfruit seed powder and the squash has been made from the bulbs, he said, and added that the three products were unveiled at the mango diversity show organised by the horticultural division of the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in Delhi on June 9.
Mr. Dinesh said organised cultivation of grafted jackfruit was yet to pick up in the country. It might take another four years for it. Once the organised cultivation was in place, there would be uniformity in the produce and its quality would also be good. It would ultimately enhance the quality of value-added products of jackfruit.
Another elite jackfruit
He said that G. Karunakaran, principal scientist and head, Central Horticultural Experiment Station, Hirehalli, Tumakuru district, had identified ‘Shankara’, a farmers’ elite jackfruit variety with red flakes, for promotion. This is the second elite variety to be identified by the IIHR.
Its lone 25-year-old tree is on the land of farmer Shankaraiah at Chowdlapura village in Tumakuru district. The IIHR would develop about 5,000 to 10,000 of its grafted saplings, propagate, and sell them. Of the proceeds of the sale, 75% would go to Mr. Shankaraiah and 25% would be retained by the institute. This variety would be promoted for table purpose. “Its flakes are sweet, aromatic, and crisp,” Mr. Karunakaran said, and added that the tree bears small fruits from April to June.
