Jackfruit Diversity: Exploring Its Dessert and Processing Potential in Western Ghats Region of Karnataka in India

Jackfruit considered as the world's largest fruit does not enjoy its due respect at present. The fruit is not popular among the masses as it is not easy to eat out of hand owing to difficulty in separating fruit bulbs from rind, and also due to morphological and/or biochemical hindrances associated with the fruit. Processing and product diversification in jackfruit is thought to help in popularizing the fruit. A wide diversity among jackfruits is seen in the Western Ghats of India, which is considered as the center of its origin. Western Ghats, the treasure house of diversity for jackfruit, provides ample opportunities for survey, collection and evaluation of fruit quality for dessert and processed products and to identify the types suitable for different purposes to augment its use as food. The exploration should help throw some light on jackfruit diversity, its physico-chemical aspects for using the fruit for dessert and processing purposes. The study should be especially useful to the academicians, researchers and students in horticulture, agriculture, biodiversity, food processing or anyone else who may be considering such under-utilized fruit crops.