Assessment of the gestation period and economic yield of African breadfruit, Reculia Africana, var. Africana Decne, moraceae

Abstract

Seedlings of African breadfruit, Treculia africana var. africana Decne, were established in a two hectare plot, adopting 10 x 10m spacing. The seedlings were later budded in January 1995 using budwoods obtained when the parent stocks (already fruiting trees) were in flowers. Observations were made on the gestation period of the budded seedlings and the pattern of flowering and fruiting. The study lasted for 12 year (1994 -2005). Fruits produced by each tree were recorded and then processed for the seeds, which were sun-dried for 2hours before disposal. The price at disposal was based on the standard for disposing agricultural produce and prevailing market price in the South Eastern States. The results showed that the trees took 3-4 years to begin flower and fruit production. Majority of the flowers produced in the first phase of reproduction aborted but persisted till fruit production in the subsequent years. Seed yield increased from 11.54kg in 1998 to 12.46kg in 2005. Revenue accruing from the sale of the seeds also increased from N304.70 in N1998 to N 2,470 in 2005. With a standard tree density of 100trees/ha., adopting 10 x 10m spacing, mean revenue as high as N118, 340.00 would be realized from 20 trees. Such revenue can be relied upon as a sustainable source of alleviating poverty particularly among the rural farmers.

Farmers’ Improved Breadfruit Awareness and Adoption Status in Southeast Nigeria

“…In support of these, [9] reported that breadfruit rings to the mind when considering all food crops in Nigeria with market potentials. The high price and demand for breadfruit in rural and urban populations have been emphasized [10,11,12,13]. From the above it is clear that when the crop is mass produced through its traditional and improved varieties, fully utilized and marketed; may increase farmers' income and livelihoods and contribute to the producing country's gross domestic product (GDP), agricultural export base and offer international agricultural market penetration opportunity.…”

“…On breadfruit, [16] inter alia attributed the reason to long gestation period of the traditional varieties. But there is evidence that improved breadfruit varieties exist which have short gestation periods of 3-4 years than that of the traditional varieties with a gestation period of about10 years [17,13].…”

“…Instead of reports on breadfruit increasing supply due to its high price and increasing demand, authors have enlisted it to be an endangered species [18,13,16]. Based on the foregoing, it becomes clear that there are still information and market research gaps on breadfruit which require investigation.…”

Studies on the Phenology of African Breadfruit (Treculia africana Decne) in South Eastern Nigeria

“…Inter State trade on the species seeds generates substantial revenue to the resource of the poor rural dwellers and the intermediary traders. Within the South Eastern States, hawkers on Treculia snacks can earn revenue that sustains their families [7,11]. [11] reported that 28 kg of undehausked / fresh seeds of the species sales at about #500 while per-boiled and dehausked seeds attract as much as #850 per 28 kg.…”

“…Within the South Eastern States, hawkers on Treculia snacks can earn revenue that sustains their families [7,11]. [11] reported that 28 kg of undehausked / fresh seeds of the species sales at about #500 while per-boiled and dehausked seeds attract as much as #850 per 28 kg. The same authors reported a revenue yield of over #25,000 per tree per year for heavily fruited trees.…”