The cultivation of Dang Surya, a red jackfruit variety of Malaysian origin, in Karnataka’s coastal region appears to be promising, going by the yield in the orchards of two farmers.
T. Ramesh Nayak Thekkatte of Kamaxi Farm in Udupi district, and Gabriel Stany Veigas, a retired district forest officer, at Neerakere near Moodbidri in Dakshina Kannada district, have harvested its fruits this year.
Well-known grafter Gururaja Balthillaya of Perdoor in Udupi district, who supplied grafted saplings to them, told The Hindu that Dang Surya is a promising red variety for both the wet (coastal) and dry belt. Other red varieties, like Siddu and Shankara, grown in the dry belt do not yield fruits in the wet belt. A farmer, Ashok, in Tumakuru belt has also grown the same variety.
Mr. Balthillaya said that he got the scion materials of Dang Surya from the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) through a software engineer (Sudhir) seven years ago, and multiplied it. The variety had borne fruits in the farm of Mr. Sudhir at Mechu Bettu near Perdoor a few years ago in a small quantity.
“Its bulbs are crispy, solid, thick and tasty. The middle core of the fruit is thin. Outer skin of the fruit is also thin. The fruit, which is purely red, has more edible portion and less wastage content,” he said adding that the variety is meant for table purpose.
The senior grafter said that the Dang Surya variety has so far not developed any disease while other exotic varieties, like J-33, another Malaysian variety, fell victim to a disease and died.
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“The taste of Dang Surya slightly varies depending on the richness of the soil. The micronutrient content in the soil plays a role in the taste, which is not uniform. It is the minus point of the variety.”
Mr. Nayak, whose Kamaxi Farm is a tropical fruit garden, said that about 50 plants of the variety, which are about three-and-a-half-year-old, yielded fruits this year. He has planted about 100 plants. “Its taste is excellent,” he said adding that after his farm began selling its bulbs in packed form, he saw a lot of demand by consumers.
“Its shelf life, without refrigeration, is three days. I observed that the bulbs taste better a day after cutting the fruit,” he said. “It is a promising variety,” he said.
Mr. Veigas said that two of his plants, which are about five years old, bore fruits this year. He has planted 10 more plants this year. His decade-old jackfruit orchard, which has several varieties, is spread over 10 acres in Tenka Mijar village.
