Custard apple tree information: Custard apple (Annona squamosa) or Cherimoya or Sugar apple is a genus of Annona and a native of the tropical Americas and West Indies. Some of the other trees widely grown are Annona reticulata, Annona cherimola (cherimoya) and Annona scleroderma.
The tree is evergreen perennial in Mediterranean to sub tropical climates and semi deciduous in cooler climates, reaching 10m in height. Custard apple is widely grown in India and South East Asia [1].
It is most widely known as a Sugar apple, Cherimoya, Sweetsop, Sweetsop-Anon, Atis, Sitafal, Sitaphal, Seetha Payam, Sitappalam, Sharifa, Sarifa, Araticum, the Buddha’s Head Fruit, etc. [2]
The fruit varies in shape and color, spherical through conical, with a thick rind composed of knobby segments. The color of custard apple fruit varies from pale green through blue-green. When ripe, the segments of the fruit separates quite easily when lightly pressed between hands, exposing the flesh. The creamy texture of the flesh gives the fruit its name, custard apple.
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| Sugar Apple, Cherimoya, Custard Apple Fruit |
It is most widely known as a Sugar apple, Cherimoya, Sweetsop, Sweetsop-Anon, Atis, Sitafal, Sitaphal, Seetha Payam, Sitappalam, Sharifa, Sarifa, Araticum, the Buddha’s Head Fruit, etc. [2]
The fruit varies in shape and color, spherical through conical, with a thick rind composed of knobby segments. The color of custard apple fruit varies from pale green through blue-green. When ripe, the segments of the fruit separates quite easily when lightly pressed between hands, exposing the flesh. The creamy texture of the flesh gives the fruit its name, custard apple.
Custard Apple, Cherimoya Varieties
There are some custard apple fruits which are small in size and contain lots of seeds with little to eat. On the other hand, there are some custard apple varieties, which produce large fruits with only 5-7 seeds and all flesh to enjoy.There are two main varieties of custard apples; both are sweet, juicy and flavored [1]. Just cut them in half and scoop the flesh out with a spoon and enjoy.
- Pink Mammoth (also known as Hilary White): The fruits are very large (up to 3kg) of high quality and have very less seeds, almost seed-less. This is the most popular variety for commercial production of custard apple.
- African Pride: The fruits are smaller (500 - 800 g) and have more seeds than the Pinks Mammoth. They begin to produce fruits earlier. It is prone to skin blackening and other fruit problems.
- The Australian custard apple is hybrid between sugar apple (Annona squamosa) and the cherimoya (Annona cherimola).
- The variety Tropic Sun is a small tree suitable for home garden with excellent fruit.
How to Take Care of Potted Custard Apple
Caring a custard apple or sugar apple tree is not difficult, whether you have grown it from seed (grow custard apple from seeds) or a cutting (grow custard apple from cuttings). Read below the details on how to grow custard apple in a pot or garden beds.Position : Where to Plant Sugar Apple
- Growing of custard apple is highly dependent on climatic conditions of temperature and humidity [4].
- Plant in a warm, wind-free, frost-free and high humid side of the garden.
- At temperatures above 28°C, the custard apple tree will produce more growth and fewer fruits, while at prolonged temperatures below about 13°C during the fruit growth, the fruit may develop skin discoloration and splitting.
- Avoid dry areas where relative humidity during fruit set may go below 70%.
- Frost can kill young and fruit bearing trees. It is not possible to grow custard tree indoors.
- If growing your custard apple in a pot, then you can move the pot in sun or indoors in winter.
Soil
Sandy loam soil is the best for custard apples, so dig the ground about 1 meter deep and add ample river sand and compost in it to ensure good tree growth. Soil with rocks or too much clay will cause the root rot.Avoid soils that have previously grown ginger, eggplant, capsicums, tomatoes and potatoes to avoid bacterial wilt disease.
Mulch
Whether you grow your custard apple in a pot or in ground, you should apply a thick layer of organic mulch to preserve humidity in the soil.Pruning
Pinch the growing ends of the branches to make the tree denser. Winter is the best time to prune the branches of the custard apple tree, however, only a light pruning is needed.Watering
- Water regularly when the trees are actively growing and flowering.
- Under watering the tree can cause fruit to burn in direct sunlight, while over-watering can lead to root rot. During the winter, when the tree becomes dormant, they do not require regular watering.
- Mulch tree and prune tree in Spring to open vase shape. Fertilize well after fruit set with organic fertilizer. Regular watering commencing at flowering to harvest is important.
Custard Apple Flowers and Pollination
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| Cut Custard Apple from inside |
The custard apple plants bloom in spring to summer producing greenish-yellow trumpet shaped flowers that emit a pleasant sweet smell.
It may happen that there are many custard apple flowers but no fruits are set. Your custard apple tree may not be setting fruit due to lack of pollination and /or long periods of hot weather. The pollination in custard apple is not as simple as in other flowers.
The flowers are protogyny or protogynous. In the protogynous flower, A single flower first opens as female flower and then becomes male flower after 36 hours. The female reproductive organs (carpels) mature before the male ones (stamens) so flowers are almost never pollinated by their own pollen. Only a small number of flowers set fruit by themselves.
The custard apple flowers are, therefore, hand-pollinated by collecting the male pollen and pollinating the female flowers.
Collect opened flowers and store in a paper bag. They will shed their pollen, apply them onto newly opened flowers which are female flowers, using a small paint brush.
It is better to have two trees to increase the chance of pollination.
The outer of the fruits are covered in rounded knobs, while the inside contains a custard like flesh.
The custard apple flowers are, therefore, hand-pollinated by collecting the male pollen and pollinating the female flowers.
Collect opened flowers and store in a paper bag. They will shed their pollen, apply them onto newly opened flowers which are female flowers, using a small paint brush.
It is better to have two trees to increase the chance of pollination.
The outer of the fruits are covered in rounded knobs, while the inside contains a custard like flesh.
Pests and Diseases
Custard apples have fewer serious pest and diseases [4], so you can grow custard apples with no or limited use of chemicals. Aphids and mealy bugs may be a problem, which can be controlled by lacewing and other predators, without any chemicals. You can use fruit fly traps when numbers begin to build up. Custard apples can be grown organically.Fertilizer for Custard Apple Tree
- Use a balanced fertilizer or citrus fertilizer every three months until the tree begins to bear fruit. Feed sulfate of potash or comfrey tea to increase flowering.
- Spread the fertilizer along the rim of the pot and mix in the soil. water after fertilization.
Protection from frost
Custard apple trees are sensitive to frost. You can protect the tree by wrapping the trunk with foam or similar material. The whole tree can be protected in winter by enclosing the tree in a tent. Move the pot under cover in winter.How Do You Eat Custard Apple?
When you buy custard apple from market, it will be unripe and quite quite hard. Place the fruit on kitchen table for 2-3 days to ripen it. When the custard apple fruit ripens, it will of pale or dull green skin and soft to touch. To speed up the ripening process, you can place it with a banana in a paper bag.The best way to eat a custard apple is to take a ripe fruit and cut it into halves or 4 pieces. Take a spoon and scoop out the flesh and eat, spit the seeds.
Can You Eat Custard Apple Seeds?
The seeds of custard apple are toxic and mildly poisonous in nature, so you should not eat them.Videos on Custard Apple, Sugar Apple
how to grow custard apple in pot YouTube Video
How to germinate custard apple seeds YouTube Video
how to grow custard apple from seeds youtube Video
how to grow custard apple from seeds Video in Hindi
Growing custard apple from seeds at home
Grow Sitafal from seeds
Comments
Isom
April 30, 2017 4:34 PM
I wanted to share what I did to speed up germination of the sweetsop seeds I saved from fruit I bought. I scarified the seeds by filing their edges. I first cracked open one seed as a test to get an idea how thick the seed coat was. It's quite thick so I filed enough away to allow water to penetrate faster and soaked in water for a day. I then laid the seeds between a folded up wet paper towel that I placed in a small unsealed Ziploc plastic bag to provide both air and retain moisture. That was about 1 1/2 weeks back and I see some are just starting to sprout. Tomorrow, I'll plant those sprouting.
I've known for a few years that a sweetsop tree can be pruned to maintain a height around 7 feet in a large container but I didn't have the opportunity to grow one before. During summer, I plan to keep it in the warmest and sunniest place possible and bring it indoors when the weather cools. I really don't know if conditions will be good enough to get fruit from it but I enjoy the challenge of growing plants from seed.
2. Custard apple, //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_apple
3. Custard Apple Farming (Sitaphal) Info Guide
4. Custard Apple
I wanted to share what I did to speed up germination of the sweetsop seeds I saved from fruit I bought. I scarified the seeds by filing their edges. I first cracked open one seed as a test to get an idea how thick the seed coat was. It's quite thick so I filed enough away to allow water to penetrate faster and soaked in water for a day. I then laid the seeds between a folded up wet paper towel that I placed in a small unsealed Ziploc plastic bag to provide both air and retain moisture. That was about 1 1/2 weeks back and I see some are just starting to sprout. Tomorrow, I'll plant those sprouting.
I've known for a few years that a sweetsop tree can be pruned to maintain a height around 7 feet in a large container but I didn't have the opportunity to grow one before. During summer, I plan to keep it in the warmest and sunniest place possible and bring it indoors when the weather cools. I really don't know if conditions will be good enough to get fruit from it but I enjoy the challenge of growing plants from seed.
References
1. Custard apple information kit2. Custard apple, //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Custard_apple
3. Custard Apple Farming (Sitaphal) Info Guide
4. Custard Apple