Annonaceous
fruits
Edible
fruits of genus Annona are collectively known as annonaceous fruits.
Of the 40 genera of the Annonacae family, genus Annona has 120 species,
6 of them having pomological significance. Annona fruits are syncarpia formed
by fusion of pistil and receptacle into a large fleshy aggregate fruit.
Annonaceous fruits have morphological affinity for each other but each type is
unique in its taste, flavour, pulp colour and texture.
Among annonaceous fruits, custard-apple is the
most favourite in India. Its plants come up unattended in parts of Andhra
Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa,
Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu as a scrub or hedge plant. Of late, custard apple has
gained commercial significance and exclusive orchards are emerging in
Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Other annonas are cultivated on a limited scale.
Bullock’s heart is more commonly found in south India than in north India. It
is usually associated with gardens and compounds and not commercial
orchards. Cherimoya is mostly restricted to Assam and hills of south India.
Atemoya and sour sop are cultivated in some gardens as miscellaneous fruits.
Atemoya, cherimoya and ilama also provide excellent opportunities for a
large-scale exploitation in India.
Climate and soil
Most annonaceous fruits are
acclimatized to tropical climate. Although custard-apple withstands heat and
drought conditions, high atmospheric humidity is necessary during flowering to
improve fruit set. But continuous rains during fruit set are not desirable. An
annual rainfall of 60–80cm is optimum. It cannot stand frost or a long cold
period.
Bullock’s heart grows well in
humid regions of south India and cannot withstand severe summer. It tolerates
frost to some extent. Cherimoya prefers subtropical climate, but it can
flourish on higher elevations (2,000m) in tropics. While climatic requirements
for atemoya are quite similar to those of custard-apple. Sour-sop in contrast,
is a fruit of the humid tropics.
Annonas thrive naturally in rocky
terrain with shallow, gravelly, well-drained soils. However, they may grow well
in arable, red, sandy shallow soils slightly acidic in reaction. Heavy soils
are not suitable, especially in waterlogged areas. In Andhra Pradesh, annonas
come up on chalka—red sandy or gravelly soils. They can grow well even
on calcareous soils containing lime as high as 50%.
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