First female jackfruit flower on a tree less than 4 years old

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Hey all, just wanted to share my excitement here but I have a couple questions about my tree also. I planted a jackfruit seedling in August 2020 that was about 2 feet tall, I noticed male flowers in September of last year and I'm seeing the first female flower just coming out of its sheath yesterday morning.





My questions are these, how can you tell the difference between a pure jackfruit and a chempejack? Is the way they flower different from one another? How about the leaf shape when they're young?

I ask about the flowers because this particular one is on a new branch with 2 male flowers behind it, with a leaf at each flower node and the branch got progressively fatter towards the female flower. And the question about the leaves is because when it was young it had tri-lobed and bi-lobed leaves just like some seedling chempejacks that I have planted.

Also one more question, should I try to hand pollinate the flower and should I expect it to hold a fruit? The tree is about 15 feet tall, I pruned it down to about 8 at the start of the rainy season here, back in April. The main trunk is probably 4-6 inches in diameter but this flower is coming off of a tertiary trunk and is about 2 inches in diameter, maybe.

[Jaboticaba45]

A simple way to tell is if the leaves are hairy. Like very hairy is chempedak, but less hair is hybrid or jack. It's simplified down but probably the best way to tell. There's many hybrids out there going a chempedak which is such a shame.

[Finca La Isla]

Our champejaks do not have hairy,(pubescent), stems at all although the fruit is certainly champejak.
Some jaks have multiple lobed leaves and others don’t.
I wouldn’t bother to try and pollinate the flower.
What makes you think it’s a hybrid?
Saludos
Peter

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

The leaves have a little hair to them. Nothing you can see but you can feel it if you run your fingers over them.

Peter, you don't think the tree will hold the fruit? I'm not sure if it's a hybrid or not but considering most people don't know the difference here I just imagined it could be. I've bought some chempejak as jackfruit before but you can tell the difference, I think at least, because they have very little latex. The seedling comes from Vivero El Punto in Alajuela or if not from there then from one around there.

[brian]

Very nice!  I am hoping mine flowers (even male) this year.  It has been growing and growing and is super healthy but no flowers yet, and this is a grafted tree

[JoshuaTilaranCR]

Here's some pictures of the flower. Definitely a female. I pollinated it, I think. We'll see what happens

[brian]

I did not realize that the flowers have those sheaths like the leaves do, I will have to go re-check my tree and see if there might already be some!