Feeding, mulching and pruning young trees

Breadfruit is not greedy, but a little care in the first three years decides how much fruit you get for the next thirty.

Mulch is the main fertiliser

Breadfruit evolved on forest floors under deep leaf litter. A permanent mulch ring — grass, dry leaves, banana trash, coconut husk — does more than any bag of fertiliser:

holds water through the dry season
keeps soil temperature down
feeds the shallow roots as it rots
stops weeds competing

Renew mulch two or three times a year. Keep it off the trunk.

Fertiliser schedule (if used)

Year 1: 100 g of a balanced NPK (e.g. 14-14-14) every three months, spread in a ring at the drip line, never against the stem
Year 2–3: 250–500 g three times a year
Bearing trees: 1–2 kg a year split into two applications, at the start of each rainy season

Compost or well-rotted manure at 1–2 buckets per tree per year can replace most of this.

Pruning

Breadfruit needs little pruning. Do these things only:

remove any shoot that competes with the main leader in the first two years, so you get one strong trunk
cut out dead, broken or crossing branches after each harvest
if a tree is getting too tall to pick safely, cut the leader back to a strong side branch when the tree is 4–5 m tall — this gives a spreading, easier tree
never remove more than a quarter of the canopy in one year

Cut clean with a sharp saw, close to the collar. Paint large cuts with a tree sealant or lime wash.

Intercropping

While the canopy is open (years 1–3) grow short crops between the trees: cassava, sweet potato, pumpkin, peas, plantain. They earn money and shade the soil. Keep them 1 m clear of the tree stem.