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Home , Annona, Annona reticulata, Annona squamosa, Ilama (fruit), Soursop

342 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1974

curiosities, the absence of a method for clonal re that our methods do not satisfactorily propagate production is of little significance. However, some the . With this and many other tropical species in this group, especially Garcinia man- , further research is needed to improve meth gostana, would be much more widely used if the ods of vegetative reproduction. disadvantages of seedling reproduction could be avoided. The mangosteen produces viable, apomictic in abundance but seedlings are barren for Literature Cited

about 2 decades. This characteristic and the fragil 1. Fielden, G. St. Clair and R. J. Garner. 1936. Vegetative ity of the plants when young prevent establishment propagation oftropical and sub-tropical . Tech. Comm. No. 7, Imp. Bur. Prod., East Mailing, England. 67 pp. of this excellent fruit byany but the most deter 2. Wester, P. J. 1920. propagation and fruit cul ture in the . Bull. No. 7, Dep. Agr. and Nat. Re mined enthusiasts. The mangosteen is extraor sources, Bur. Agriculture, Manila, The Philippine Islands. dinarily difficult to graft and these results show 134pp.

STATUS OF CULTURE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

John Popenoe The apple, , is the most popular of the here because of its high Fairchild Tropical Garden quality fruit and adaptation to our area. Almost Miami all of the grown here are seedlings. Selec tions have been made to get better bearing and Among the first tropical fruits introduced into fruits, but little has been accomplished because Florida are several speciesof Annona. The custard there seems to be very little variability among the apple, and the sugar apple, An seedlings. An enriched soil and frequent irrigation nona squamosa, were early found to be well adapted during a dry summer appear to be more important to South Florida conditions and their culture in than grafting from a selected . Two variations home gardens became rather widespread. of this species have been introduced, one seedless Over the years, a number of other species of form from (and a seemingly identical one Annona were introduced and those that had any from ) as well as a purple fruited form from merit were accepted and grown by home gardeners Cuba. The seedless form is a curiosity, but is not who were interested in these fruits or they re likely to be widely grown because the fruit splits mained in collections for possible use as rootstocks. badly as it matures on the tree, and the quality A review of annonas grown by members ofthe may be slightly inferior. The purple form has Rare Fruit Council International, Inc. in Florida purple skin color and a purplish or pinkish flesh. gives a good indication of relative popularity of Although this is attractive, the quality is perhaps the species. Annona squamosa was reported to be a little inferior to the average seedling. growing in yards of more than 65 members; An Sugar apples are fairly productive. Seedlings nona muricata, the , was being grown by begin producing in3 or 4 years from . Fruits about 60 members, while some 42 members are ripen over a fairly long period, from mid-August growing Annona reticulata. Annona cherimola, the to mid-winter if there is no frost. They are grown , which seldom produces any fruit here in onlythe warmer areas of South Florida because is reportedly grown by 27 members, while the pop of their sensitivity to frost. Production of 20 to ular hybrids between Annona squamosa and An 50 fruits per yearon a small tree is average. An nona cherimola are grown by about the same num exceptional tree might produce over a hundred. ber of people as Annona reticulata. It should be Fruits canbe picked a few days before they soften pointed out that members of the Rare Fruit Coun on the tree and held inside the house to ripen. cil represent a very small fraction of the people After they get soft, they can be held for several growing these trees, but perhaps give some indica more days in the refrigerator. The softness of the tion of relative popularity. fruit has made it difficult to handle commercially, POPENOE: ANNONA CULTUEE 343 so they have hardly ever been sold except at a few Florida. It is well adapted to our soils and climate roadside fruit stands. except for the cold weather. Temperatures in the Besides the frost hazard, sugar apples suffer 40° to 45° F range will cause all of the and from other problems. The chalcid fly and ambrosia most small fruit to drop. Temperatures at the beetles are the two most serious pests. Chalcid flies freezing point, or just below, will cause damage to oviposit in the seeds in the very young fruits. This the wood. often is followed by a secondary infection of fun Various selections of soursop have been made gus which causes the fruit to "mummify". Am but none has shown any overall advantage to seed brosia beetles oviposit in the young stems and the ling propagation. A variety was introduced from larvae that develop cause much dieback during the Cuba by Mr. W. F. Whitman of Bal Harbour, winter season when growth is slow. Both of these which has no fibre in the fruit. Although this is a insects can be controlled by spraying with benzene valuable characteristic, the variety is very unpro hexachloride, but the backyard gardener seldom ductive and most years produces no fruit at all. A bothers with this and just accepts whatever losses worthwhile character seen in some seedlings is

occur. cauliflory. In these seedlings, flowers are born on The , Annona reticulata, some the trunk or larger limbs; sometimes on spurs times called bullock's heart, is a more vigorous with several flowers. This character may result in and larger tree than the sugar apple. (In some greater productivity. parts of Florida, the pond apple, A. glabra, is bear two main crops a year in South called custard apple, but its fruit is not ordinarily Florida. Spring. blooming results in ripe fruit in eaten.) It is a little hardier to cold and thus is July, August and September. Summer blooming re more commonly seen a little farther north in areas sults in ripe fruit in December, January and Feb like Bradenton on the west coast and Merritt Is ruary. Cold damage to the trees may prevent land on the east coast; as well as warmer spots in spring flowering and cold weather in the fall may the "Ridge". Stone cells in the flesh of the fruit cause all the fruit from the summer flowering to give this species a lower rating in quality than the drop. Thus, it is very difficult to evaluate soursop sugar apple. Seedlings free of stone cells have clones for productivity. been reported to, but not seen, by the author. Seeds The , Annona diversifolia, is grown to a of a purple fruited form of this species were re very limited extent in South Florida. The "Imery" ceived from southern and trees grown from variety, introduced from by the Uni them have fruited at the Montgomery Foundation versity of Florida at Homestead, provided some in Coral Gables, producing the purple fruits with impetus to culture of this fruit because it grew purplish flesh. There is little difference in quality well and bore good crops. Hamas may have white between purple and other custard apples. To my flesh or various shades of pink flesh. They ripen knowledge, no cultivars of the custard apple have during a short period in August and September been grafted. Most seedlings produce fruits with and they split open on the tree when they are a red brown or yellowish skin. mature. We have been unsuccessful in ripening The custard apple fruit ripens in late winter fruit picked before it splits. One more objection to and spring when there are few other annonas. Un this fruit is the large number and size of the seeds. fortunately, it is very susceptible to the chalcid The ilama does grow and bear fairly well in our fly, so a large percentage and sometimes all of the area, however, and seems to suffer much less from fruit, will be mummified. mummification of the fruits by chalcid fly, than do The cherimoya (A. cherimola) is generally con the atemoyas and custard apples. sidered to produce the finest quality fruit of all of The ilama fruits are much larger than sugar the annonas. Seeds, budwood and even grafted apples and may weigh up to 2 pounds. Pound for plants have been brought into Florida for more pound, the ilama will probably bear as much or than 50 years and still no success has been at more fruit than the sugar apple. Unfortunately, tained with any variety or seedling. The trees will good comparative experiments have not been made grow well enough, but only a few misshapen nub in productivity of any of the annonas in our area. bins are produced instead of the delicious fruits one The "Imery" variety, originally introduced from sees in tropical highlands. This species cannot be El Salvador, is a large, pink fleshed variety. Al recommended for culture in South Florida. though it has beautiful fruit, it is not judged by The soursop, Annona muricata, is a popular tasters at the Fairchild Tropical Garden to be as species to grow in the warmest areas of South high quality as some of the white fleshed seedlings 344 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1974

at the Montgomery Foundation, and has not born waii which was thought to be a between a as heavily as some of the seedlings. pink ilama and cherimoya. It has done very poorly Great emphasis has been placed in finding or here but did produce one or two nubbins to show creating a hybrid between the cherimoya and the that it did have pink colored flesh. I could see no sugar apple so that a higher quality fruit can be evidence of hybridity and consider it to be a pink successfully grown in the tropical lowlands. Hy fleshed cherimoya. brids of these species were made some 50 years Hybrids between soursop and mountain soursop ago and called atemoyas. They also occur naturally () are said to have been made in in and perhaps elsewhere. They are Cuba. Apparently, nothing of great value came called chirimorinones in Venezuela from chirimoya from this cross and none of the hybrids is known and rinon, which is the local name for sugar apple. to have been introduced into Florida. The moun In , hybrids originated from seeds planted tain soursop is more resistant to cold than soursop when sugar apple and cherimoya were planted side and can be used as a rootstock. It grows and fruits by side. This has happened in other countries such well here, but the fruit is not of good quality for as Florida in the U. S. Graftwood from , eating because of a strong terebinthine flavor. I Hawaii, Israel and Venezuela has been imported to can see little reason to use it as a rootstock since Florida for comparison with hybrid varieties of the soursop grows well enough on its own roots local origin. and there has been no indication that the stock The following atemoyas have been grown at will increase hardiness of the scion. the Montgomery Foundation: Bradley, Caves, Numerous other species of annona have been Chirimorinon A, B and C, Island Gem, Kaller, introduced for trial in Florida. None has been Lindstrom, Page, Priestly and Stermer; as well as found to be of particular value so far. \Annona a number of seedlings. Although these have all jahniiy the manirito from Venezuela, has fruited fruited, none could be said to be very satisfactory. but the fruit was small and seedy and not of high The greatest problem is shy bearing. Some will quality. A number of trees of A. purpurea, the bear a small crop for one or two years and then soncoya, or manirote, have grown here for many skip several years. Other difficulties also occur years but I have never seen a good fruit produced. such as heavy damage from chalcid flies and split A few nubbins have set and then dropped off, per ting of the ripening fruit, as occurs with ilama. haps because of chalcid fly infections. A. dioica Some varieties ripen unevenly with hard spots in from is growing slowly here but has not the soft flesh and Kaller often develops a hard fruited. A.globifiora from Mexico, fruits well but black membrane around each carpel enclosing a has small fruits of poor quality. A.nutans has seed. Eating quality varies from year to year. fruited but the fruit is of poor quality. Annona Recent introductions from Israel in senegalensis fruits well, but is of poor quality. A. clude Geffner, Malamud, Bernitski, Kabri and senegalensis and our native A. glabra may have Malai 1. The first two are growing at the Uni some value as rootstocks, but so far Annona re- versity of Florida AREC in Homestead, while the ticulata has been the most useful rootstock because last three are growing at the USDA's Sub-tropical it can be used for ilama, sugar apple and atemoya. Horticultural Research Station in Miami. These No definitive studies have been done with root- have not been grown long enough to properly stocks, but there are often incompatibilities when evaluate. using species other than the same one as the scion. Although the fruit is small and tends to split For example, although ilama has been found com badly, the Page variety has been the most satis patible with the pond apple rootstock, atemoya is factory variety at the Montgomery Foundation. often incompatible with pond apple. Hopefully, some of the newer varieties will turn Much work needs to be done with annonas to out far superior to it, or at least we will learn obtain varieties that will grow well here. The ex some new cultural methods to improve production perienced horticulturist may grow many different of varieties with superior fruits. kinds but the beginner with limited space will do A variety of annona was introduced from Ha well to grow a seedling sugar apple.