Scientists introduce new variety of red-petaled jackfruit

Named Bhyrachandra, it gets its name as the petal’s colour resembles the full moon. It bears fruits twice a year

A new variety of sugarcane, developed by UAS scientists from Mandya, on display at Krishi Mela. This variety is best suited for the extraction of jaggery. DH Photo/BK Janardhan   

A new variety of sugarcane, developed by UAS scientists from Mandya, on display at Krishi Mela. This variety is best suited for the extraction of jaggery. DH Photo/BK Janardhan

With the rising demand for red-petaled jackfruit, scientists introduced the Bhyrachandra variety on Thursday during the annual Krishi Mela.

Bhyrachandra, which gets its name since the petal’s colour resembles the full moon, bears fruits twice a year. Besides the regular April-May season, it delivers a second load of fruits in August-September.

An average fruit weighs 8.72 kilograms with 20-23 petals. A single tree can produce up to 120 fruits, which might weigh about 1,200 kilograms.

“Yellow petal fruits are good, too,” said Dr Shyamalamma S, professor, Department of Plant Biotechnology, University of Agricultural Sciences, GKVK.

“But the red petal ones like Tubugere and Sindhushankara varieties are more attractive to people. We are also creating more such varieties,” Shyamalamma said.

Demand for tender fruits has been on the rise in the state, the professor noted.

“The tender fruits are cubed and sold in supermarkets. They are also used to make chips (vacuum fried and normal fried) and papad. The pulp of the ripe fruits is being used to make ice creams,” she said, adding that the tender fruits are also exported to USA and Europe.

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