Annona squamosa

Annona squamosa

Annona squamosa is the most widely grown Annona spp., and this small tropical tree originated in the New World tropics, probably in the Caribbean region. This plant is also known as sugar apple or sweetsop and has many other regional names such as custard apple (India), anon (Portuguese), and noi-na (Thailand). Sugar apple is a favorite fruit in Cuba and is also common in West Indies. Sweetsop is also widely cultivated in Taiwan. It is still grown as a backyard tree and the Philippines is considered as one of the largest producer in the world. Sweetsop tree is smaller than the cherimoya and is semideciduous in growth habit. It grows 3–8 m in height with a short trunk and irregularly spreading branches. Owing to small fruit size, poor shelf life, and fruit cracking at maturity, this fruit has not shown much potential for large-scale commercial cultivation. Sweetsop is a round, heart-shaped, ovate, or conical fruit weighing about 120–330 g. Fruit are greenish yellow with many outer round protuberances and covered with a white powdery bloom. The flesh is white with numerous black seeds and has a pleasant sweet–sour flavor. Fruit has high caloric value and a high sugar content of 58% (dry mass).

Sweetsop (or custard apple) plant is a semideciduous tree, which is predominantly drought-resistant. Fruits are mainly preferred for their sweet taste and fragrance. Fruits are ovoid to conical (8–10 cm in diameter and length, weighing 1–2 kg), are pale green to yellow in color, and are thick-skinned (rind) with knobby, hexagonal sections. Pulp portion of matured, ripe fruits are eaten fresh. Unripe fruit are inedible and are astringent.

Pulp portion encloses thick inedible seeds. In some of the pantropical regions, leaves and seeds are used for their insecticidal properties. Sweetsop fruit are rich in carbohydrates/sugars, fiber, proteins, ash, and vitamin C. Fruits are also traditionally used as flavoring agent during preparation of ice cream in the Philippines, where marketing of sugar apple wine is popular.

SOWING ADVICE

For best results, sow immediately onto a good soil-based compost. Cover the seeds with fine grit or compost to approximately their own depth. They can be sown at any time, and germination can sometimes be quicker if kept at 15 to 20 degrees C. We sow most seeds in an unheated greenhouse and wait for natural germination, as many seeds have built-in dormancy mechanisms, often waiting for natural spring germination, hence giving them a full season of growth.

Price is for 6 seeds 5.40 euro