The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) announces the 4th International Symposium on Lychee, Longan and Other Sapindaceae Fruits, to be held from 2-6 December, 2012, in White River, South Africa.
The symposium is organised by the South African Litchi Growers’ Association and the Agricultural Research Council under the auspices of ISHS. Maybe this is an opportunity to disseminate your work on Sapindaceae fruits, but consider that your paper is likely to appear in conference proceedings behind a pay wall and will effectively be inaccessible to the folks unable to afford the hefty fees for ISHS article downloads. This is unfortunate as the scarcity of literature on these lesser known species is  further aggravated by what appears to us as obsolete publication policies.

Photo courtesy: Shree Padre, 2011

Shree Padre from Kerala, India, has sent us this attractive promotional booklet on jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus). He also settles the eternal question about the “king of fruits” or “raja buah” as we say in Malaysia. He writes: “In India mango is the king of fruits. In Southeast Asia it is durian. Others argue that mangosteen is the king [...]. If all these are kings, then jackfruit is the kingmaker”. We agree jackfruit is a worthy contender for botanical royalty, but for the time being we suggest to keep the contest open… In a new edition, Shree might want to explain the significance of the book’s title to a non-Indian audience. According to Wikipedia  Kalpavriksha is a mythical wish-fulfilling divine tree in ancient Sanskrit literature. Here is Shree’s jackfruit-Kalpavriksha connection:

“Jackfruit [...] can fulfill the hunger of an entire family. Imagine a Jackfruit tree in your homestead garden. It gives shade. Keeps your micro climate cool. Sheds bagful of dry leaves for you to mulch your vegetable and flower plants. Green leaves and roots are used as medicine. Goats relish these leaves. The tree remains for centuries and offers very valuable timber when grown. Jack timber, very expensive and durable, is used in making furniture and musical instruments”. There is a very useful list of jackfruit Internet resources on the last page of the book, notably this blog. We look forward to further Jackfruit news from Kerala!

Breadfruit tree in Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia

• Beyond the Bounty: Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) for food security and novel foods in the 21st Century
• Diversity of breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis, Moraceae) seasonality: A resource for year-round nutrition
• Nutritional and morphological diversity of breadfruit (Artocarpus, Moraceae): Identification of elite cultivars for food security

Deepa Dwivedi, Associate Professor at the Department of Applied Plant Science, Ambedkar University, in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India, has sent us this interesting factsheet on barhal (Artocarpus lakoocha), a poorly known tree of the humid sub-Himalayan regions of India with edible fruits of an intense yellow color, and peculiar taste reminiscent of citrus. The genus Artocarpus is well-known for the pantropically distributed breadfruit (A. altilis) and jackfruit (A. heterophyllus), but the genus contains some 50 species, several of which are used for their edible fruits. Here in Malaysia, cempedak (A. integer) is a common sight in supermarkets. Cempedak fruits combine the texture of jackfruit with hints of durian flavour.

Prof Dwivedi describes the food and medicinal uses of barhal, and has identified factors that have possibly constrained the wider use of the species. The tree has comparatively low yields, its fruits are highly perishable and are irregularly shaped, which is said to result in poor market acceptability. We look forward to further research to address how these constraints can be overcome: perhaps through the selection of superior genotypes with better yield and fruit types, or convenience products with better shelf life? Apologies to Prof Dwivedi for the delay in posting her very interesting material!