Annona Squamosa (Red) - most widely known as Sugar-apple or Sweetsop, also sometimes custard-apple, is a species of Annona native to the tropical Americas. Its exact native range is unknown due to extensive cultivation, but thought to be in the Caribbean; the species was described from Jamaica.Sugar-apple fruit is high in calories and is a good source of iron. The fruit flesh is edible, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The edible portion coats the seeds generously; a bit like the gooey portion of a tomato seed. Sugar-apple has a very distinct, sweet-smelling fragrance. The texture of the flesh that coats the seeds is a bit like the center of a very ripe guava (excluding the seeds). It is slightly grainy, a bit slippery, very sweet and very soft. The seeds are scattered through the fruit flesh; the seed coats are blackish-brown, 12-18 mm long, and hard and shiny.BOTANICAL DESCRIPTIONThe sugar apple tree ranges from 10 to 20 ft (3-6 m) in height with open crown of irregular branches, and some-what zigzag twigs. Deciduous leaves, alternately arranged on short, hairy petioles, are lanceolate or oblong, blunt tipped, 2 to 6 in (5-15 cm) long and 3/4 to 2 in (2-5 cm) wide; dull-green on the upperside, pale, with a bloom, below; slightly hairy when young; aromatic when crushed. Along the branch tips, opposite the leaves, the fragrant flowers are borne singly or in groups of 2 to 4. They are oblong, 1 to 1 1/2 in (2.5-3.8 cm) long, never fully open; with 1 in (2.5 cm) long, drooping stalks, and 3 fleshy outer petals, yellow-green on the outside and pale-yellow inside with a purple or dark-red spot at the base. The 3 inner petals are merely tiny scales. The compound fruit is nearly round, ovoid, or conical; 2 1/3 to 4 in (6-10 cm) long; its thick rind composed of knobby segments, pale-green, gray-green, bluish-green, or, in one form, dull, deep-pink externally (nearly always with a bloom); separating when the fruit is ripe and revealing the mass of conically segmented, creamy-white, glistening, delightfully fragrant, juicy, sweet, delicious flesh. Many of the segments enclose a single oblong-cylindric, black or dark-brown seed about 1/2 in (1.25 cm) long. There may be a total of 20 to 38, or perhaps more, seeds in the average fruit. Some trees, however, bear seedless fruits.Climate RequirementsSugar apple requires a tropical or subtropical climate with summer temperatures from 25 • to 41 •C, and mean winter temperatures above 15 •C. It is sensitive to cold and frost, being defoliated below 10 •C and killed by temperatures of a few degrees below freezing. It is only moderately drought-tolerant, requiring rainfall above 700 mm, and not producing fruit well during droughts.PropagationSugar apple seeds have a relatively long life, having kept well for 3 to 4 years. They germinate better a week after removal from the fruit than when perfectly fresh. Germination may take 30 days or more but can be hastened by soaking for 3 days or by scarifying. The percentage of germination is said to be better in unsoaked seeds. While the tree is generally grown from seed, vegetative propagation is practiced where the crop is important and early fruiting is a distinct advantage.SoilThe sugar apple is not particular as to soil and has performed well on sand, oolitic limestone and heavy loam with good drainage. Water-logging is intolerable. The tree is shallow-rooted and doesn't need deep soil. Irrigation water containing over 300 ppm chlorine has done the tree no harm.CultureSugar apple trees need to be spaced in order to elevate atmospheric humidity and improve pollination. Commercial fertilizer containing 3% N, 10 % P and 10% K significantly increases flowering, fruit set and yield. Judicious pruning to improve shape and strength of tree must be done only in spring when the sap is rising, otherwise pruning may kill the tree. Irrigation during the dry season and once during ripening will increase fruit size.Cropping and YieldSeedlings 5 years old may yield 50 fruits per tree in late summer and fall. Older trees rarely exceed 100 fruits per tree unless hand-pollinated. With age, the fruits become smaller and it is considered best to replace the trees after 10 to 20 years. The fruits will not ripen but just turn black and dry if picked before the white, yellowish or red tint appears between the rind segments, the first signs of separation. If allowed to ripen on the tree, the fruit falls apart.
