Have you seen a melon-sized fruit? which is in a bright reddish-orange color then look into the article completely if you want to know about the fruit and its benefits. And know how this fruit was innovated and cultivated by a person who is from Ernakulam, Kerala.
Know how he has grown this fruit, how he had researched about this fruit, and many more. Read on!!
Story of the Kerala Farmer Who Has Grown Gac Fruit And Earning Lakhs From It
John Punnackals was a person from Ernakulam, Kerala. He has known about this exotic fruit while he hosting an event for a social welfare organization in Vaikom, Kerala. The remaining story is listed below.
- Jojo says that though his family was into agriculture for generations, he wasn’t very interested in farming until he saw this Gac fruit.
- When Jojo saw this fruit, he got attracted to it and became more curious to know about this fruit.
- This gac fruit has been growing in his house at Amalapuram, near Angamalyin Kerala for the past four years.
- This tree was very easy to grow anywhere even if you have a space on the terrace too.
Look into the below sections to learn about this fruit in every detail.
Growing the Superfood By Jojo
In 2018, when Jojo started growing this Gac fruit by planting the first seeds he had got many experiences and he learned how it was growing and everything. Below are some points he has shared on how this fruit of heaven tree has grown.
- The first time, he got these seeds was when they got flooded in 2018, he saw them and they were underwater for two days.
- After the calamity, he found them and got interested in planting and seeing the fruit.
- Then after planting, he found that it also grows exactly like “passion fruit”, and also started to learn more information about the fruit.
- After three to four months of planting, the tree started flowering and that is when he started research on this gac fruit online.
- He says that this fruit is cultivated in countries like Vietnam, Columbia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, South China, and many other countries.
- And the trees that were planted, three of them were female and three of them were male.
- In 2018, December, they harvested their first fruits and were fascinated to see such vibrant colors hanging from the vines like bulbs.
- In the starting stage of fruit, it will be in green color and after some days it turns yellow, and then orange, and then red.
- Once you cut the fruit you can see the black-colored edible seeds with a dark red pulpy coloring.
- The weight of the single fruit can be upto 1 kilo, and a single plant can bear upto 50 fruits in one season.
- Gac fruits start yielding fruits usually from December to March.
- To get good fruits every time, you need to prune the tree after every harvest for the best yield next time.
- If you see the scientific name of this fruit it is Momordica Cochinchinensis and it is a native of Vietnam.
Benefits of Using Gac Fruit and How it is Used
Look into the below list of benefits that are provided, by Gac Fruit.
- As we are calling it gac fruit, it can also be named Chinese bitter cucumber or spiny gourd. As it has good nutritional benefits, it is also called, the “fruit of heaven”.
- It is also useful in treating conditions like skin, and eyes, and the fruit is widely consumed for boosting immunity, heart health, good skin, and so on.
- It is also a good fruit as it protects eye tissues from exposure to UV rays and helps in reducing the oxidation of eye tissues.
- In several countries, this fruit is also used in supplements too. It is also helpful and works with anti-aging properties, face creams, etc…
- In 2021, Jojo expanded cultivating Gac fruit to 60 cents of land by replacing the rubber trees.
- The market price that we have presently for 1 kg of gac fruit ranges from Rs.900 to Rs.1200.
- Even though the price is high, Jojo has not sold the fruits rather he sold the seed packet for Rs. 300 per packet.
- The seed packet contains six seeds as it is difficult to figure out male and female seeds.
- These plants will grow in places with good sunlight and slightly dry climates where irrigation is possible.
- The taste of the fruit is not sweet or it doesn’t have any particular taste, so you can use this fruit by making it as a juice by adding honey and sugar.
- Even it works as a good coloring agent and many country people mainly Vietnamese use the pulp for adding color.
Key Outcomes
As we have seen above, this gac fruit is used in many value-added products like skin creams, soaps, jams, and oils. But people in India are still not aware of this magical fruit. Jojo earns rs. 1500 per month and an average of Rs. 2 lakh per year from the seeds.
At present Jojo grows more than 30 plants on his house terrace and front yard, and 60 cents of the ground that he had around his house. If you want these beneficial gac fruit seeds you should contact Jojo at the number 8606856474.