Pests of Jackfruit

Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.) is a largest tree-borne fruit, commonly known as ‘wonder’ fruit. It is widely cultivated in Southeast Asia. It is also known as poor man’s food in eastern and southern parts of India. Jackfruit is being consumed as vegetable or fruit. India is the leading producer of jackfruit with an average production of 1436 thousand tonnes and holds 900 germplasm collections which is largest in the world followed by Bangladesh (APAARI 2012). Jackfruit has low calorific value, and it is a rich source of potassium. It also contains vitamins A and C, thiamine, riboflavin, sodium, calcium, iron, zinc, niacin, etc. (Swami et al. 2012). Insect pests are one of the main constraints in jackfruit production, and about 38 species of insect pests are known to attack jackfruit. Among them, few are reported as major pests, viz. shoot and fruit borer, Glyphodes caesalis, bud weevil Ochyromera artocarpi, mealy bugs Drosicha mangiferae, Nipaecoccus viridis, Planococcus lilacinus, spittle bugs, Cosmoscarta relata, Clovia lineaticollis, bark-eating caterpillar Indarbela tetraonis and trunk borers Aprioma germari and Bactrocera rufomaculata (Butani 1979; Alam et al. 2011). Mani and Krishnamoorthy (1997) also reported N. viridis, a sporadic but a severe pest on jackfruit.