A tree of life!

The jackfruit tree is a harbinger of life to denuded lands, to poor soils. A heap of loose excavated subsurface soil was heaped under one of our jackfruit trees for five years. Today, I started removing the soil and was amazed. The thick jackfruit leaves had carpeted the place undisturbed for five monsoons. The top three inches of the soil had changed its color from orange to blackish brown. The texture had transformed to almost that of the fertile top soil on a forest floor. There were little tunnels where the earthworms had worked and the rain water had percolated. The feel of the soil in my hand was quite awesome. We should plant more jackfruit trees instead of blindly planting acacia, eucalyptus, mangium, or teakwood trees for a better environment, a happier future. Not to forget the fabulous fruits of the jackfruit tree, of course!