Publication
from Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0
by C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. Jamnadass and S. Anthony
Annona
squamosa L.
Local Names:
Arabic (gishta);
Bengali (ata); Creole (cachiman); Dutch (kannelappel); English (sweet
sop, custard apple, sugar apple); Filipino (atis); French (cachiman
canelle, pomme de cannelle,attier); German (Rahm- Annone, Rahmapfel,
Zimtapfel, Süßsack); Hindi (sitaphal, ata, sharifa); Indonesian
(sarikaja, atis); Italian (pomo canella); Javanese (sirkaja); Khmer
(tiep baay, tiep srôk); Lao (Sino-Tibetan) (khièb); Malay (nona sri
kaya, sri kaya, buah nona); Mandarin (fan-li-chi); Portuguese (atta,
fructa do conde); Sanskrit (sitaphal); Spanish (candongo, chirimoya,
fructo do conde, anón, anona blanca,pinha, saramuya,anona); Swahili
(mtomoko, mtopetope); Thai (lanang, makkhiap, noina); Urdu (sharifa);
Vietnamese (na,mang câú ta)
Family: Annonaceae
Botanic
Description
Annona
squamosa is a
small, semi-deciduous tree, 3-7 m in height, with a broad, open crown
or irregularly spreading branches; bark light brown with visible leaf
scars and smoothish to slightly fissured into plates; inner bark light
yellow and slightly bitter; twigs become brown with light brown dots
(lenticels).
Leaves occur singly, 6-17 x 3-6 cm, lanceolate or
oblong lanceolate, pale green on both surfaces and glabrate or nearly
so; sides sometimes slightly unequal; edges without teeth,
inconspicuously hairy, at least when young, minutely dotted on
examination with a lens; thin, dull green to dark green on top surface,
and pale blue-green and covered with bloom on underside; apex short or
long pointed; base short pointed or rounded; petioles 0.6-1.3 cm long,
green, sparsely pubescent.
Flowers greenish-yellow, fragrant, on
slender hairy stalks, produced singly or in short lateral clusters
about 2.5 cm long, 2-4 flowers but not at the base of the leaves;
sepals pointed, hairy, green, about 16 mm long; 3 outer petals oblong,
thick and rounded at the tips, fleshy, 1.6-2.5 cm long, 0.6 cm wide,
yellow-green, slightly hairy, inside light yellow and keeled with a
purplish or reddish spot at the thin, enlarged base; inner petals 3
minute, ovate, pointed scales; stamens very numerous, crowded, white,
less than 16 mm long; ovary light green, styles white, crowded on the
raised axis.
The aggregate fruit formed from the numerous
pistils of a flower, which are loosely united, is soft and distinct
from other species of the genus. Each pistil forms a separate tubercle,
mostly 1.3-1.9 cm long and 0.6-1.3 cm wide. Fruit is round, heart
shaped, ovate or conical, 5-10 cm in diameter, with many round
protuberances; greenish-yellow when ripe, with
Biology
Trees start to bear
fruit when 3-4 years old. In Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands,
flowering and fruiting occur throughout the year. In India, the leaves
fall in January-February and are renewed in April-May when the flowers
appear, and fruiting is in July-August.
Ecology
A. squamosa
is distributed throughout the tropics and is preeminently a desert
fruit. Trees do well in hot and relatively dry climates such as those
of the low-lying interior plains of many tropical countries. A. squamosa
has the reputation, particularly in India, of being a hardy,
drought-resistant crop. This is only partly correct. Although the rest
period and leaf fall enable the tree to bridge a severe dry season, it
requires adequate moisture during the growing season, responding well
to supplementary irrigation. The importance of moisture is borne out by
the fact that in India as well as Southeast Asia, fruit set is largely
limited to the onset of the rains, not withstanding the prolonged
flowering season. Trees are common on the dry coast of Puerto Rico, and
also grow in Vieques, St Croix, St Thomas, St John, Tortola, and Virgin
Gorda.
Biophysical
Limits
Altitude: 0-2000 m, Mean annual temperature: Up to 41 deg. C, Mean
annual rainfall: Above 700 mm
Soil types: A. squamosa
tolerates a wide variety of soils. It grows in rich, well-drained, deep
rocky soils but prefers loose, sandy loams.
Documented
Species Distribution
Native:
Antigua and Barbuda,
Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba,
Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Grenada,
Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Netherlands
Antilles, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St
Vincent and the Grenadines, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay,
Venezuela, Virgin Islands (US)
Exotic: Australia,
Cambodia, China, Cyprus, Fiji, Greece, India, Indonesia, Laos, Malta,
Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon
Islands, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Tonga, Uganda, US, Vietnam,
Zanzibar.
The
map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does
neither suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological
zone within that country, nor that the species can not be planted in
other countries than those depicted. Since some tree species are
invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to your
planting site.
Products
Food:
Fruits are normally eaten
fresh. The pulp can be used as a flavouring in ice cream. Between
50-80% of the fruit is edible. The vitamin C content is appreciable
(35-42 mg/100 g) and slightly higher than in grapefruit. The nutrient
value of thiamine, potassium and dietary fibre is also significant.
Fuel:
The tree is a good source of firewood.
Timber:
The light yellow sapwood and brownish heartwood are soft, light in
weight and weak.
Poison:
Green fruits, seeds and leaves have effective vermicidal and
insecticidal properties.
Medecine:
Leaves, shoots, bark and roots have been reported to have medicinal
properties. The unripe fruit is
astringent, and the root is a drastic purgative.
Services
Shade or shelter: A.
squamosa can be planted as a shade tree.
Ornamental: The attractive tree is grown in gardens.
Intercropping: Trees are grown with mango, banana and coffee trees
Tree
Management
Trees
are planted 5-6 m apart or 10-12 m when grown with mango trees. This
slow-growing tree must be protected from browsing animals. If well
looked after, it will start producing fruit after about 2 years.
Regular watering and weeding are required for good fruit production.
Soil needs to be fertilized generously for better fruit yield.
Commercial fertilizer containing 3% nitrogen, 10% phosphoric acid and
10% potash is recommended. A mature tree, 5 m high, produces several
dozen fruits in a season. Biological control and chemicals including
malathion and dimethoate acephate are used to control pests. Trees are
sprayed with bordeaux, fermate, phygon, and zerlate to control
anthracnose disease.
Germplasm
Management
Seed
storage behaviour is orthodox. If kept dry, seeds retain their
viability for several years. No loss in viability occurs during 6
months hermetic storage at -20 deg. C and 1.5% mc, but loss in
viability occurs if seeds are stored at room temperature.
Pests and
Diseases
The most common pests of
A. squamosa are mealy bugs (Planococcus spp.),
fruit flies (Dacus
spp.), spotting bugs (Amblypelta
spp.) and scales (Parasaissetia
spp.). All these can be controlled in an integrated pest management
programme. In the Philippines, a fruit-boring moth (Annonaepestis bengalella)
is the most destructive pest. Another serious pest is a eurytomid wasp
whose larvae bore into the fruits. The trees are susceptible to Colletotrichum gloeosporioides
and are attacked by Aleurocanthus
woglumi. The major root rot disease is bacterial wilt (Pseudomonas solanacearum).
Symptoms are collar rot, dark internal discoloration of the root and
the wood tissue, tree decline and eventual death. Chemical control of
the disease is not possible. A.
squamosa rootstocks are highly susceptible. The major
fruit diseases are black canker (Phomopsis
spp.), diplodia rot (Botryodiplodia
spp.) and purple blotch (Phyphthora
spp.). The incidence of these fruit diseases increases under moist or
wet conditions. They can all be controlled by a regular spray programme
using either mancozeb or copper oxychloride
Further
Reading
Anon. 1986. The useful plants of India. Publications &
Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi, India.
Hong TD, Linington S, Ellis RH. 1996. Seed storage behaviour: a
compendium. Handbooks for Genebanks: No. 4. IPGRI.
Katende
AB et al. 1995. Useful trees and shrubs for Uganda. Identification,
Propagation and Management for Agricultural and Pastoral Communities.
Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU), Swedish International
Development Authority (SIDA).
Little EL, Wadsworth FH. 1964. Common
trees of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Agricultural Handbook. No.
249. US Department of Agriculture. Washington DC.
Mbuya LP et al.
1994. Useful trees and shrubs for Tanzania: Identification, Propagation
and Management for Agricultural and Pastoral Communities. Regional Soil
Conservation Unit (RSCU), Swedish International Development Authority
(SIDA).
Popenoe W. 1974. Manual of the tropical and subtropical fruits. The
Macmillann Company.
Smith JHN et. al. 1992. Tropical forests and their crops. Cornell
University Press.
Troup RS. 1975. The silviculture of Indian trees. ed. 2, vol. 2.
Government of India.
Verheij
EWM, Coronel RE (eds.). 1991. Plant Resources of South East Asia No 2.
Edible fruits and nuts. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.
Vogt K. 1995. A
field guide to the identification, propagation and uses of common trees
and shrubs of dryland Sudan. SOS Sahel International (UK).
Williams R.O & OBE. 1949. The useful and ornamental plants in
Zanzibar and Pemba. Zanzibar Protectorate
|
|