Farmer with the jackfruit mania

For the last 10 years, this 34-year-old farmer has been on a collection spree, not of priceless artefacts, but of different varieties of jackfruit.

K.C. Vishwas, a native of Mudigere, has collected and grown 68 varieties in his farm near Dudda in Hassan taluk. “I have travelled almost 1.7 lakh km in my vehicle just to collect varieties of jackfruit and cultivate them,” he told The Hindu .

He has visited all regions where the fruit grows, including Nagaland, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Kerala, and collected the pick of varieties.

His farm, spread over 110 acres, has over 500 jackfruit trees, 1,000 coconut trees and some mango, pomegranate, and sapota trees.

“I did not start this for money. I only wanted to collect as many varieties of the fruit, mainly the best ones,” he said.

Mr. Vishwas, a BBM graduate, knows every feature of every tree in his farm.

“The varieties have not been named scientifically. They are named after the place where they are commonly found. Janegere and Byrasandra are some examples,” he said. And, there are stories to recount of his journeys.

“In one place, the tree belonged to a joint family and I had to seek permission from every member to collect the variety. A couple of years ago, I was told that a fruit-seller in Chikkamagaluru was selling vanilla-flavoured jackfruit. I spent a whole day looking for the vendor only to find that he was injecting the flavour into the fruit before selling it. My journey across the country has taught me many lessons,” he said.

Vishwas has collected

68 varieties of the

fruit, which he grows

in his farm