✅ 1. Description
- Common Name: Then Varikka (തേൻ വരിക്ക)
- Type: Grafted Jackfruit Variety
- Specialty:
- Famous Kerala variety known for honey-sweet taste
- Less fibrous, firm flesh with golden-yellow bulbs
- Grafted variety ensures early fruiting and true-to-type taste
- Suitable for both home gardens and farms
🌱 2. How to Plant
- Method: Plant grafted sapling directly in prepared pit
- Soil Type: Well-drained red loamy soil enriched with compost
- Planting Steps:
- Dig a 2.5×2.5 feet pit
- Mix red soil, compost, sand, cow dung, and bone meal
- Place the grafted sapling upright and gently cover roots
- Water thoroughly after planting
- Spacing: Minimum 8–10 feet between trees
📏 3. Plant Size
- At Purchase: 2–3 feet tall grafted plant
- Full Growth: Up to 30–40 feet tall tree with wide canopy
🍒 4. Fruiting Time
- First Fruiting: Within 3–4 years (grafted ensures faster fruiting)
- Fruiting Season: Mostly summer, sometimes twice a year
- Fruit Color: Green to yellowish outside when ripe
- Fruit Taste: Intensely sweet with honey-like flavor
- Fruit Texture: Firm, low fiber, easy to clean
🌳 5. Plant Type
- Type: Perennial, large tropical tree
- Propagation: Grafted (not from seed)
- Suitable for Pots: No – requires ground space
- Ideal For: Home gardens, orchards, farm cultivation
🪴 6. Caring Tips
☀️ Sunlight:
- Needs full sunlight (6–8 hours daily)
💧 Watering:
- Water weekly in dry seasons
- Young plants need more frequent watering
- Avoid water stagnation
🌱 Fertilizer:
- Apply organic compost/cow dung every 2 months
- Add bone meal/neem cake/bio-fertilizers for better fruit yield
✂️ Pruning:
- Prune lower branches and suckers yearly
- Shape the tree canopy during early years
🐛 Pests/Diseases:
- Watch for mealybugs, fruit borers
- Use neem oil or organic pesticide spray as needed
🛡️ Protection Tip:
- Mulch base with dry leaves to retain moisture and suppress weeds