Jackfruit
Find out information on current partnerships and research activities with the jackfruit growers.
Jackfruit improvement
Working in partnership with plant industry enterprises, this project aims to increase profitability, sustainability and product quality of jackfruit.
Tropical tree fruit research and development in the Philippines and northern Australia to increase productivity, resilience and profitability
In this project, jackfruit was used as a model crop to investigate the benefits of nursery hygiene, production technology and processing to support industry development. Integrated disease management techniques were explored, with a particular focus on reducing the incidence of Phytophthora diseases in nursery and orchard production stages. Propagation techniques, seed treatments, rootstock selection and grafting techniques were evaluated.
This project addressed the potential of interspecies rootstock / scion combinations to improve disease resistance and to suppress tree vigour. Investigations of crop management options to improve yield and fruit quality showed that strategic pruning and nutrient management are potential tools for flowering manipulation, increasing shoot development and spreading crop production.
A range of novel processing procedures were explored for jackfruit value-added products. The project demonstrates that jackfruit has potential for high density production techniques, such as trellising, which improves fruit quality, ease of harvesting and cyclone resistance.
Read final report on the Australian Government's Australian Centre of International Agriculture Research website.
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Demonstrating next-generation orchards
The project is a demonstration of the next generation of orchard production technology proposed for northern Australian tropical fruit producers to increase annual productivity and profitability whilst managing cyclone risks. The key objectives of the project are to demonstrate the management and productivity benefits associated with high-density and trellised plantings for cyclone resilience whilst simultaneously evaluating the commercial suitability of new jackfruit selections and propagation methods at multiple sites across North Australia.
Trial and demonstration sites are in Carnarvon and Kununurra, Western Australia; Darwin and Katherine, Northern Territory; and Bellenden Ker, Atherton, Mutchilba and Townsville, Queensland. Each demonstration site will use a mixture of seedlings, grafted trees and vegetatively propagated trees planted to evaluate the selected varieties for commercial production.
Funding body and partners
This project includes co-investment as cash and in-kind co-contributions from the Co-operative Research Centre for Developing Northern Australia, the Queensland Government, Western Australia Government and Northern Territory Government. The project is led by the Queensland Department of Agriculture and Fisheries with project partners the Northern Territory DAF and Northern Territory Farmers Association; the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development in Western Australia and GrowCom in Queensland. Commercial horticulture partners include Manbulloo Limited and Aus-Ex.
Objectives
- NT DAF will trial three lines of jackfruit propagated from cuttings and grafted plants in both high density freestanding, and trellised formations.
- The project will investigated propagation techniques to improve outcomes.
Further information
- Project results can be found on the CRCNA project website
- NextGen Facebook page
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Developing ready-to-market Jackfruit products for Australian market growth
Jackfruit is a tropical, exotic fruit crop, grown commercially in countries such as Asia, India and Bangladesh. In Australia the industry is concentrated across the northern regions of the Northern Territory, Queensland and Western Australia. Whilst it is a major crop in other countries, in Australia it has been considered a minor or emerging industry for more than a decade. One key impediment to the growth of the Australian industry is market acceptance and consumer behaviour. Over the past 20 years a number of reports have consistently identified similar themes in terms of growing the domestic jackfruit industry through processed products. This project aims to reduce these barriers through the continued development of convenient, and appropriately portioned processed products.
Objectives
- To develop industry capacity and supply chains, including grower partner plantings, the engagement of commercial processors in product development and industry engagement.
- To refine the development of three promising products through to commercialisation.
- To determine the harvest window and quality specifications for fruit intended for processed products.
- To engage retailers in the project through small in-store consumer acceptance trials.
Funding body and partners
This project is funded by AgriFutures Australia, with the support and collaboration of the University of Melbourne.
Further information
Read more about:
- the conceptualisation of potential products in the Processing jackfruit into ready-to-eat products and ingredients (2021) report, funded by AgriFutures Australia, in collaboration with NT DAF and Monash University.
- technology mapping for the Australian jackfruit industry (2023) in the Food Agility report by Derek Baker.
- the current jackfruit industry in the Australian emerging tropical fruits strategy RD&E plan (2021), funded by AgriFutures Australia, by Greg Owens.
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