Selection of endemic varieties for intensive cultivation, towards building the Nghe An jackfruit brand

Jackfruit is a local specialty of many semi-mountainous regions of Nghe An with a distinctive aroma, rich sweetness, superior quality compared to other jackfruit varieties, and high economic potential. However, over the years, the area of ​​native jackfruit has been increasingly narrowed due to being cut down and replaced with foreign jackfruit trees, small-scale farming practices, and ineffective seed propagation methods.

From 2022 to 2024, the province has implemented the project "Application of scientific and technological advances, building a model of breeding and intensive cultivation of jackfruit varieties" with the goal of preserving, replicating and enhancing the economic value of local jackfruit.

Accordingly, the research team went to villages across the province to investigate and test traditional jackfruit varieties that people are leaving for business; as a result, 34 perennial jackfruit trees were selected to select excellent trees. Then, 20 typical seedlings were screened in all aspects, of which 10 trees were recognized as the first-generation jackfruit by the Nghe An Department of Agriculture and Environment. Typical examples include the Nghe jackfruit variety (6 trees), aged from 20 to 65 years; the coconut jackfruit variety (4 trees), aged from 25 to 100 years...

These parent trees are the source of grafting buds to produce high-yielding, high-quality seedlings. Accordingly, 6,000 trees have been successfully incubated and grafted, and nearly 3,000 standard jackfruit trees have been exported.

During 2023-2024, the project planted 4 hectares of jackfruit from grafted seedlings, with 11 households participating in model building in Quynh Luu district (2.25 hectares) and Thanh Chuong district (1.75 hectares).

Participating in the model, households are supported with seeds, trained in technical processes for growing and cultivating jackfruit trees, and are taught techniques for incubating, potting, and grafting jackfruit seedlings...

Mr. Tran Dien Vi, one of the households participating in the model in Thanh Duc commune (Thanh Chuong) said: “Participating in the project, my family's wish is to create an intensive jackfruit growing area in the direction of goods. Therefore, I was supported to plant on an area of ​​1.4 hectares, 334 trees. After 1.5 years of planting, thanks to proper care and technical instructions, investment in fertilizers and irrigation, the Dai Ta jackfruit trees are now growing well, with a survival rate of up to 90%. During the time from planting until the jackfruit bears fruit (7-8 years), we intercrop beans, peanuts, pumpkins... under the jackfruit to "take the short to feed the long".

According to the project to develop and expand the area of ​​fruit trees associated with the processing and consumption industry of Nghe An province in the period of 2021 - 2030, the plan to develop jackfruit trees by 2025 is 1,300 hectares; by 2030 it will increase to 2,700 hectares (an increase of 9.59%/year in the period of 2021 - 2030). In particular, the local jackfruit is a good quality jackfruit variety with development potential, so the selection of the parent tree, successful propagation and experimental planting of the jackfruit variety will not only help preserve valuable genetic resources, but also create a foundation for Nghe An jackfruit to become a commodity product with high economic value. With the advantage of quality, jackfruit can completely compete with imported varieties.

However, jackfruit is mainly consumed fresh, processing and consumption are not stable. The biggest limitation at present is that the production organization is still small and scattered, causing difficulties in investing in infrastructure, controlling quality, consuming products, organizing processing linkages and building value chains...

To overcome the above shortcomings and limitations, specialized agencies need to have specific orientations on concentrated production areas associated with processing ripe jackfruit, dried jackfruit and frozen jackfruit, building a chain from production to consumption and having specific support policies on infrastructure.

Along with that, organize training courses, disseminate and transfer advanced production processes to people; build the brand "Nghe An jackfruit" to ensure market requirements on quality, food safety and aim for export.