Climate change is putting increasing pressure on food systems. Rising temperatures, longer dry seasons, and less predictable rainfall are making it harder for farmers to maintain the crops that communities depend on.
Jackfruit has drawn attention in this context, and its size is part of the reason. Guinness World Records has officially recorded the heaviest jackfruit at 42.72 kilograms (94 pounds), highlighting just how large a fruit can grow on a single tree. Yet researchers are increasingly interested in another characteristic: the wide genetic and physical diversity found within the species.
The jackfruit, Artocarpus heterophyllus, is widely grown across tropical regions and is familiar throughout Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia. Its potential for climate adaptation may lie in the variety of traits found among different trees, which could provide useful material for developing varieties suited to changing growing conditions.
Looking at Jackfruit Diversity in a Dry Region
A 2025 study published in Scientific Reports examined 94 jackfruit trees in Tumkur and Bengaluru Rural districts in Karnataka, India. Researchers from the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research studied the trees between 2020 and 2023, focusing on populations growing in a relatively dry region.
The trees were found in home gardens and secondary forests, many of them grown from seeds with relatively little human intervention. Their fruits showed considerable variation. Weights ranged from about 1 kilogram to more than 13 kilograms, with an average of nearly 6 kilograms.
The differences extended to the flesh. Some fruits had pale yellow flesh, while others were orange or reddish-orange. Red-orange flesh was particularly common in Gubbi, Tumkur, but was rarely observed in the other areas studied.
This variation is partly linked to how jackfruit reproduces. The species is largely cross-pollinated and commonly propagated from seeds, allowing offspring to inherit different combinations of traits.
DNA analysis in the study also indicated that genetic factors played an important role in the differences between trees, even when those trees grew relatively close to one another.
The Traits That Could Shape Jackfruit’s Future
For plant breeders, this diversity provides a broader pool of traits to work with. Researchers selected 11 trees based on characteristics including fruit size, flesh thickness, and the proportion of edible fruit, while also assessing taste and nutritional qualities.
Sweetness varied among the selected trees, while orange-fleshed varieties contained higher levels of carotenoids, lycopene, and antioxidants. Genetic analysis also found substantial diversity among the trees.
The 11 selected trees were conserved in several locations, including farmers' fields, the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources in New Delhi, and the National Active Germplasm Repository at ICAR-IIHR in Bengaluru.
The researchers also highlighted participatory breeding, which involves farmers in identifying and developing varieties that could provide both agricultural and economic benefits.
A Giant Fruit With a Bigger Role in Food Security
Genetic diversity gives breeders more options when developing plants for specific environments. That becomes increasingly important as growing conditions change, since crops may need to cope with shifts in temperature, rainfall, and water availability.
Jackfruit already has several uses that make it relevant to food security. Young fruits can be cooked as a vegetable or meat substitute, ripe fruits are eaten fresh, and seeds can be boiled or roasted. The fruit and seeds also contain nutrients such as carbohydrates and B vitamins, while different parts of the tree can be used in food and other applications.
These characteristics have contributed to growing interest in jackfruit and other neglected and underutilized species as potential additions to food systems. Their value, however, depends on more than simply finding a crop that grows in tropical conditions.
The Karnataka study did not directly test whether the trees were more tolerant of drought or heat. Instead, it documented genetic and physical diversity that could provide useful material for future breeding.
Environmental conditions can also influence some of the traits observed, and the study covered only a limited geographic area, so researchers say broader sampling and further testing are needed.
Jackfruit cultivation also faces practical constraints. The crop has relatively few improved varieties, fruit quality can vary widely, and pests such as jackfruit borers can affect production. Trees grown from seeds may also take eight to 10 years to begin producing fruit.
For now, the 94 trees studied in Karnataka offer something more fundamental than a ready-made climate solution: a glimpse of the genetic diversity that breeders can draw on. Finding and conserving that diversity could help determine which jackfruit varieties are capable of performing well as growing conditions become less predictable.
