BREADFRUIT IN PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Breadfruit (Artocarpus altilis) is an extremely important food crop of widespread occurrence in Papua New Guinea where it grows readily on lowland alluvial plains and fans below altitudes of 1500 m and where rainfall is above 1500 mm annually. While not a major staple food, it is a significant supplementary crop for food security and variation in diets. It is particularly important on the smaller islands and atolls. Seasonality is not clearly defined and is reportedly different from location to location. There are so-called wild and cultivated forms with much reported variation in seed size and content. Seedless cultivars are propagated through root cuttings or root suckers. Possible genetic variation has not been characterized. Accounts of seed utilization for food may have confused A. altilis with the breadnut (A. camansi). Breadnut is an aggressive pioneer species in re-vegetation following flooding and riverbank sedimentation and its main product is the large edible seed. Cultivated breadfruit trees come into bearing after 3-6 years and can yield up to 700 fruits per year of up to 4 kg in weight. Latex and leaves have localized traditional medicinal uses and timber and bark are also utilized.