A jackfruit tree in Kadu Malleshwara area of west Bengaluru, which was uprooted and seasoned 16 years ago to build an apartment complex, has been brought to life again by scientists of University of Agricultural Sciences. Features of the tree have now been successfully propagated into a new variety called ‘GKVK Red Jack’, set for release Friday on the first day of Krishi Mela at Gandhi Krishi Vigyan Kendra campus in Bengaluru. One among the five new variety of crops developed by agricultural and biotechnology scientists of UAS, this jack cultivar has an intriguing tale by itself. Dr Shyamalamma S, head of biotechnology department at UAS, told TOI they had tasted a delicious variety of jackfruit red flakes on a footpath near Kadu Malleshwara temple in 2007. Smitten by the taste, a few of us went in search of the tree and realised it was located nearby. We came to know the property owner wanted to axe the tree to build a sprawling apartment complex. It was then that UAS faculty collected a small branch from the 30-year-old tree and brought it to the campus. The faculty preserved the variety by grafting and evaluating it for a few years, she explained. Later, the grafted cultivar was planted in an agricultural field at Venkatagirikote village near Devanahalli for botanical evaluation. The farmer gave his consent and then scientists cultivated 65 plants of the uprooted tree. The original version was further grafted with different varieties resulting in the new one. Now, we have developed a new variety of jackfruit tree and it’s ready for distribution to farmers. It will cost Rs 150 per sapling, said Shyamalamma. UAS scientists said the new jackfruit variety has red colour flakes with no gum. Each medium-size flake weighs 25-30 grams.