Publication
from Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0
by C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. Jamnadass and S. Anthony
Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb
Local Names:
Burmese
(myankdok), English (monkey jack), Hindi (lakuch, dhau, dephal, badhal),
Malay (tampang), Nepali (badahar, arhar), Thai (lokhat), Trade name
(lakuch).
Family: Moraceae
Botanic
Description
Artocarpus lakoocha is
a medium to large deciduous tree with a spreading crown, dropping its
leaves for a short time at the beginning of the dry season. The bark is
grey and the slash is deep red with milky latex.
Leaves alternate, 10-25 cm long, elliptical, pointed and leathery.
Flowers
unisexual-male and female flowers in separate spherical heads but on
the same tree. Male flowers are yellow-orange while the female are
reddish.
Fruit is a syncarp (the entire female inflorescence
forms a fruit), irregularly rounded, green when young, turning yellow
at the time of maturity, later brown. The size differs but the diameter
is typically 5-10 cm while fruit weights 200-350 g. The number of
seeds/fruit varies accordingly, but typically there are 10-30 per fruit.
Seeds
irregular and vary in size like the fruits. At maturity, most seeds are
about one cm long, more or less flattened and pointed at the embryo
end, the seed-coat is thin and white. The seeds contain sticky white
latex.
The generic name comes from the Greek words ‘artos’
(bread) and ‘karpos’ (fruit) while the species name is derived from the
fruit’s common name in India.
Biology
In Nepal the trees
flower in April, towards the end of the dry season. Ripe fruits are
collected from the end of June to early August in most places but there
can be considerable variations. The tree is deciduous, dropping its
leaves for a short time at the beginning of the dry season. The
fragrant flowers indicate insect pollination. Birds and monkeys usually
disperse the seeds.
Ecology
It is often found
along banks of stream usually in lowland areas and in well-protected
spots. In many places the populations are gradually decreasing due to
extensive exploitation and poor seed viability.
Young trees
withstand moderate shade, but older trees grow best in full light. It
grows best on deep permeable soils with a good supply of moisture and
does not thrive on poorer sites. Trees can withstand a dry season of up
to 3 months. Young seedlings are badly damaged by frost, and the tree
should not be planted in frosty areas.
Biophysical
Limits
Altitude: 150-1600 m
Mean annual temperature: 17-24ºC
Mean annual rainfall: 700-2000 mm
Soil type: It prefers deep permeable soils
Documented
Species Distribution
Native: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam
Products
Food: The fruits and male flowers are eaten raw, boiled, steamed or roasted.
Fodder: In Nepal it is highly
valued as a fodder tree in the lower foothills of the Himalayas. The
leaves contain about 16% crude protein and one tree produces between 60
and 200 kg fresh fodder in a year. It is fed to lactating animals and
considered one of the most important milk producing forages.
Fuel: The trees are an important source of firewood.
Timber: The wood is hard and
termite resistant with a weight of about 640 kg/m3. It is used in
heavy construction, poles, beams, furniture boats, wood based materials
and plywood.
Latex or
rubber: A sticky latex is present in all parts of the tree and has many uses.
Tannin or
dyestuff: The tree bark (containing 8-9% tannin) is chewed like betel nut. The wood and roots yield a lavish colour dye.
Lipids: The fat extracted from the seed is a light yellow liquid, viscous at room temperature.
Medicine: The root is an
astringent and is used as a purgative; when macerated it was used as a
poultice for skin ailments. The bark is used to treat headache.
Services
Shade or shelter: A
perennial tree crop that provides beneficial shade and cooler
microclimate for humans, plants and animals beneath its canopy.
Soil improver: The tree can be used to provide mulch.
Ornamental: Occasionally grown as an ornamental plant.
Intercropping:
It is an important component of traditional agroforestry systems. The
trees are integrated into mixed cropping systems with other crop.
Tree
Management
A. lakoocha needs care and attention. Individual farmers plant few trees on their farms.
For
plantations establishment, 1 m x 1 m spacing is recommended with
thorough weeding and fertilizer application, for the best production of
fodder. In Nepal, plants 18 months old (average 1.6 m in height)
yielded 400 kg of fodder per ha.
Germplasm
Management
A. lakoocha
is usually propagated by seeds, cuttings or stumps. Naturally, birds
and monkeys eat the fruits scattering the seeds under trees, where,
after the rains, numerous seedlings may be found. Root cuttings
approximately 5 cm long or stem cuttings of 20 cm long with at least
three buds, taken from the lower part of the stem of 1.5 year old
seedling is recommended.
The seeds can be sown in polypots (10 x
18 cm) or in seedbeds. Normally two seeds per pot are sown and surplus
seedlings pricked out into another pot. 20-25% compost should be added
to the potting mixture.
If sown in seedbeds, the seedbed should
be raised. About 1 kg of seed used per sq. m. After 3-4 weeks (when the
seedlings are about 5 cm tall) they are pricked out. The seedlings are
fairly robust and two to three weeks after germination, shade against
sun and rain is no longer needed. However, the seedlings must be
protected from frost. Sowing is done during the monsoon because of the
short viability of the seed. The seedlings must remain in the nursery
until the next monsoon (nearly one year later), when they attain 20-25
cm height
When the fruits have turned yellow, the seeds inside
are mature. Seeds that are extracted from green fruits have low
viability and only ripe fruits should be collected. As the ripe fruits
are readily eaten by monkeys and birds, collection must be well timed.
The fruits should be collected while still on the trees. Freshly
collected fruits and seed have a high moisture content and must be
treated gently. They must be packed in bags that allow ventilation,
protected from direct sun and brought to the processing site as quickly
as possible. The yields are in the order of about 80 kg of fruit/tree.
There are 50 g of seed/kg of fruits.
The traditional procedure
is to leave the seeds inside the fruit until just before sowing, if a
cold storage facility is not available. However, seed stored inside the
fruit quickly lose viability within a week. To extract the seeds, the
fruits are de-pulped manually with or without water. As the seed-coat
is thin, the seeds are fragile and once extracted, must be treated
gently.
Seeds are recalcitrant. Mature seeds extracted from
yellow fruits have moisture content of 50-55% and do not tolerate
drying to low moisture content. They should be stored at 5°C. If the
seeds are extracted before storage they should be dried slightly and
never below 40% moisture content. There are 1600-5000 seeds per kg.
Pests and
Diseases
A fungus species (Pseudocercospora artocarpi) is reported to attack this species in its native range.
Further
Reading
Jackson JK. 1987. Manual of afforestation in Nepal. Department of Forestry, Kathmandu.
Karki
MB, Gold MA. 1992. Evaluation of growth performance of ten commonly
grown fodder tree species in central and western Nepal. Banko-Janakari.
3(4): 21-26.
Kessler CDJ. 1981. Notes on the raising of some fodder
trees from the hills of Nepal. International Tree Crops Journal. 1(4):
245-271.
Khan MK. 1994. New host records for some foliicolous fungi from India. Indian Phytopathology. 47(3): 274-275.
Lillesø
JB, Poulstrup E and Thapa HB. 2001. Species leaflets for 131 woody
species. TISC Technical Paper Series No 102. Tree Improvement and
Silviculture Component, Nepal.
Napier I and Robbins M. 1989. Forest seeds and nursery practice in Nepal. Nepal. UK Forestry Research Project, Kathmandu.
Panday KK. 1984. Effects of altitude on the growth and development of the fodder tree Artocarpus lakoocha Roxb. Dissertation, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Zurich.
Sharma KC, Singh IP. 1994. Exploiting the non-traditional fibre plants to supplement demand. Indian Farming, 43(11): 13-17
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