ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the origin and distribution, nutritional composition, medicinal values, climatic requirement, soil requirement, cultivated varieties and post-harvest management of breadfruit. Breadfruit has been a staple food and traditional crop in the Pacific for more than 3,000 years and is now being cultivated for food security in the Caribbean and other tropical regions. It is a tropical fruit crop that can be grown best at temperature between 21°C and 32°C, and its growth is retarded at lower or higher temperature. Breadfruit has a higher water requirement because of its shallow root system and larger canopy. It is used more as a vegetable than as a fruit. It is eaten after cooking, boiling, baking, roasting, frying or making soups. A decoction of breadfruit's leaf is believed to lower blood pressure and is also said to relieve asthma. Fruit fly and mealy bug are the insect pests that attack breadfruit during its lifetime.
