Sugar apple from seed

How to Grow Sugar Apples in Containers

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Despite its name, the sugar apple plant (Annona squamosa, USDA zones 9 through 11) is not related to the apple tree (Malus domestica, USDA zones 3 through 8). In fact, sugar apples, which are also called custard apples or sweetsops, look somewhat like large berries or an immature cluster of bananas. You can peel off sections of the fruit individually to reveal white, fragrant flesh with a single long, black seed inside.

Although their exact origin is unknown, sugar apples thrive in the tropics. They can be grown outdoors in the U.S. only in the southernmost areas of Texas and Louisiana, the Florida peninsula, southwest Arizona, and the coastal and valley regions of California. Still, if these areas experience droughts or low humidity, sugar apple trees may not grow well.

Growing a sugar apple or custard apple plant in a pot allows you to bring it inside, where you can better control the air temperature, humidity, and soil moisture. This makes it possible to grow sugar apples in USDA zones 4 and above, according to Fast Growing Trees.

Recommended Varieties of Sugar Apples

With most fruit trees, it’s important to find a dwarf variety to ensure it will thrive in a container. Fortunately, sugar apple trees are already on the small side, maturing at only 15 to 20 feet in height. Therefore, choosing which variety to grow comes down to what’s most important to you: seedless fruit, sweet fruit, whether you want to start trees from seed, or the color of the fruit itself. However, it’s difficult to find a variety that ticks all the boxes.

According to the University of Florida, the two seedless varieties ‒ ‘Cuban Seedless’ and ‘Brazilian Seedless’ ‒ are not highly recommended because of a lackluster taste and a tendency for the fruit to split open as it matures. ‘Lessard Thai’ is said to have the best fruit quality, followed by ‘Kampong Mauve.’ Top Tropicals reports that a relatively new variety called ‘Na Di’ produces sweet fruit that doesn’t break apart into sections like other varieties.

Purdue University notes that ‘Mammoth’ produces lopsided but very sweet-tasting fruits that grow true from seed. ‘Balangar’ is a high-yielding cultivar with sweet fruit, but it has a rough and almost warty appearance. An aptly named variety called ‘Red’ features red or deep pink leaves, flowers, and rinds. It grows true to seed, but, unfortunately, it has poor-tasting flesh.

Sugar Apple Tree Propagation

Grafted sugar apple trees usually flower and fruit sooner than those started from seed. However, even sugar apples grown from seed can bear fruit within two years. If you choose to purchase a sugar apple fruit and harvest its seeds to grow your own tree, be sure to buy a variety that grows true from seed. In addition, some sugar apples in U.S. supermarkets are sold mostly as novelties and aren’t necessarily the best-tasting varieties.

Purdue University notes that sugar apple seeds can store for three to four years, but the highest rate of germination occurs when seeds are germinated one week after harvest. The germination process can take one month or longer with sugar apples. You can speed up the process by soaking sugar apple seeds in water for three days. However, this will lower the rate of germination, so be sure to soak multiple seeds and select the largest to plant.

Regardless of whether you choose to soak or not soak the seeds, be sure to rinse them to remove any sticky flesh after removing them from the fruit, and then pat them dry if you’re not immediately planting them.

Starting a Sugar Apple Tree From Seed

Start sugar apple seeds as you would any garden vegetable. Fill seed-starting tray inserts with basic seed-starting medium. Press one seed into each of the cells to a depth of 1 inch and lightly cover it with medium. Water immediately and place a plastic cover over the tray to encourage a humid environment. Let the tray sit in the warmest, sunniest place in your home (or outside).

Top Tropicals notes that some sugar apple seeds are more likely to sprout with bottom heat. Place the tray on a seedling heat mat to encourage faster germination. Keep the soil moist at all times. Some varieties germinate faster than others, but you should see some positive signs within a month of planting.

Even if you plan to grow only one sugar apple tree, plant multiple seeds. This will allow you to select the healthiest and most vigorous seedling as your tree.

Growing a Sugar Apple Tree in a Pot

Sugar apple trees have a long taproot; therefore, they should be grown in at least a 15-gallon pot to give this root plenty of space to grow. Fill the container with a well-draining potting soil designed for tropical plants. Maintain humidity around the plant by placing a tray of water next to it. Sugar apples are somewhat drought-tolerant, so try to keep the soil moist but not soggy.

Crucially, sugar apple trees need full sun and warm temperatures. They will die if exposed to temperatures around 30 to 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Place them in front of a south-facing window if keeping them indoors. When the outdoor weather is suitable, place the container outside on a patio, deck, or balcony.

The University of Florida recommends applying a complete NPK fertilizer (6-6-6) every six to eight weeks during the growing season at a rate of 1/4 pound per tree. After the tree is 3-years-old, the NPK application frequency can be reduced to just four times per year at a rate of 1.5 to 4 pounds per tree. However, this advice assumes the sugar apples are being grown in the ground. Because nutrients quickly leach out of the soil in containers, maintaining a low but frequent fertilizer rate may be more appropriate for mature container-grown sugar apple trees.

Hand-Pollinating Sugar Apple Flowers

Sugar apple trees are self-pollinating, which means that you only have to grow one tree for it to produce fruit. However, the sap beetles that pollinate sugar apple trees won’t be able to access trees grown inside, and they may not be present in your area to begin with. Hand-pollinating your sugar apple tree ensures that you can enjoy these tasty fruits.

Sugar apple trees produce flowers with both male and female parts, but, according to the University of Florida, each flower activates one or the other at different times of the day. In other words, the female stigma closes when the male anthers shed pollen, and the male anthers do not shed pollen when the female stigma is open. The female stage tends to happen in the morning, and the male stage usually occurs in the evening.

To hand-pollinate a sugar apple tree, you’ll need to know how to recognize male vs. female activity in the flowers. For example, the petals will appear wide open when a flower is in the male stage. Pollen must be harvested from flowers in the male stage, stored overnight, and transferred to flowers in the female stage the next morning.

Cathy Habas has been a full-time freelance writer since 2014. She graduated from Indiana University Southeast with a Bachelor’s degree in English. She enjoys writing content that helps homeowners feel motivated and confident in handling projects around the home. Her work has been published around the web, including on home improvement sites like Ron and Lisa.

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Сахарное яблоко (Нойна)

Сахарное яблоко (тайское название — «noi-na»), основной сезон — июнь -сентябрь.

Под бугристой болотно-зеленого цвета кожурой этого фрукта скрывается сладкая ароматная мякоть молочного цвета: если фрукт достаточно зрелый, то его можно есть ложкой.
Кстати говоря, основой особого мороженого, подаваемого в тайских ресторанах, служит именно сахарное яблоко. Фрукт очень любит жаркий и влажный климат, поэтому выращивают его в основном на юге страны.
Сахарное яблоко или Аннона чешуйчатая (лат. Annona squamosa) — плодовое дерево семейства Анноновые.

Сахарное яблоко — дерево высотой от 3 до 6 м с двурядными листьями 5—15 см длиной и 2—5 см шириной, ароматными при растирании. Цветки ароматные, продолговатой формы, 2,5—3,8 см длиной, располагаются вдоль ветвей и имеют два внешних и два внутренних лепестка. Сложный плод имеет круглую форму и достигает в длину 10 сантиметров. Внутри плода имеется белая волокнисто-кремовая душистая сочная сладкая мякоть и от 20 до 38 чёрных блестящих семян.

Сахарное яблоко широко культивируется в Южной и Центральной Америке, на Антильских островах, в Индии, Индонезии, Южном Китае, на Филиппинах, в Африке, Австралии и Полинезии.

Мякоть спелых плодов Сахарного яблока съедобна. Перед употреблением грубая кожура плода обычно вскрывается, затем сегменты мякоти употребляются в пищу, а семена выплёвываются. Мякоть также используется для изготовления десертов и прохладительных напитков. Ядра семян содержат 14—49 % невысыхающего масла, которое может может быть использовано для замены арахисового при производстве мыла. Оно, после обработки щелочью, также может быть использовано в пищевых целях. Из листьев получают качественное эфирное масло богатое терпенами и сесквитерпенами. Отвар листьев используется, как тонизирующее и жаропонижающее средство. Отвар коры и корней, а также недозрелые плоды, обладают вяжущими свойствами и употребляются при дизентерии.

С период с июня по сентябрь на рынках появляются фрукты, похожие на крупные шишки с бугристой зеленой кожурой, напоминающей панцирь черепахи. Зрелый фрукт можно есть ложкой, мякоть молочно-белого цвета сладкого сливочного вкуса с небольшими черными косточками. Нойна любит жаркий влажный климат, поэтому выращивают его на юге Тайланда. Очищенную мякоть подают в виде десерта, а так же нойна служит основой мороженого. Фрукт богат витамином С, аминокислотами и кальцием.

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What Is Sugar Apple Fruit: Can You Grow Sugar Apples

Ovoid to nearly heart-shaped, covered in knobby gray/blue/green hues that look almost like scales on the outside and inside, sections of glistening, creamy-white flesh with a shockingly pleasant aroma. What are we talking about? Sugar apples. What exactly is sugar apple fruit and can you grow sugar apples in the garden? Read on to find out about growing sugar apple trees, sugar apple uses, and other information.

What is Sugar Apple Fruit?

Sugar apples (Annona squamosa) are the fruit of one of the most commonly grown Annona trees. Depending upon where you find them, they go by a plethora of names, amongst them include sweetsop, custard apple, and the apropos scaly custard apple.

The sugar apple tree varies in height from 10-20 feet (3-6 m.) with an open habit of irregular, zigzagging twigs. Foliage is alternate, dull green on top and pale green on the underside. Crushed leaves have an aromatic scent, as do the fragrant flowers which may be single or in clusters of 2-4. They are yellow-green with a pale yellow interior borne off of long drooping stalks.

The fruit of sugar apple trees is about 2 ½ to 4 inches (6.5-10 cm.) long. Each fruit segment typically contains a ½-inch (1.5 cm.) long, black to dark brown seed, of which there may be up to 40 per sugar apple. Most sugar apples have green skins, but a dark red variety is attaining some popularity. Fruit ripens 3-4 months after flowering in the spring.

Sugar Apple Information

No one is exactly sure where sugar apples hail from, but they are commonly cultivated in tropical South America, southern Mexico, the West Indies, Bahamas, and Bermuda. Cultivation is most extensive in India and is wildly popular in the interior of Brazil. It can be found growing wild in Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Barbados, and in the drier regions of North Queensland, Australia.

It’s likely that Spanish explorers brought seeds from the New World to the Philippines, while the Portuguese are thought to have brought the seeds to southern India prior to 1590. In Florida, a “seedless” variety, ‘Seedless Cuban,’ was introduced for cultivation in 1955. It does have vestigial seeds and has a less developed flavor than other cultivars, grown primarily as a novelty.

Sugar Apple Uses

The fruit of the sugar apple tree is eaten out of hand, separating the fleshy segments from the outer peel and spitting the seeds out. In some countries, the pulp is pressed to eliminate the seeds and then added to ice cream or combined with milk for a refreshing beverage. Sugar apples are never used cooked.

The seeds of the sugar apple are poisonous, as are the leaves and bark. In fact, powdered seeds or dried fruit have been used as a fish poison and insecticide in India. A seed paste has also been used pasted on the scalp to rid people of lice. The oil derived from the seeds has also been used as a pesticide. Conversely, the oil from sugar apple leaves has a history of use in perfumes.

In India, the crushed leaves are snorted to treat hysteria and fainting spells and topically applied to wounds. A leaf decoction is used throughout tropical America to treat a multitude of symptoms, as is the fruit.

Can You Grow Sugar Apple Trees?

Sugar apples need a tropical to near-tropical climate (73-94 degrees F. or 22-34 C.) and are unsuited to most areas of the United States with the exception of some areas of Florida, although they are cold tolerant to 27 degrees F. (-2 C.). They thrive in dry areas except during pollination where high atmospheric humidity seems to be an important factor.

So can you grow a sugar apple tree? If you are within that climactic range, then yes. Also, sugar apple trees do well in containers in greenhouses. The trees do well in a variety of soils, provided they have good drainage.

When growing sugar apple trees, propagation is generally from seeds that may take 30 days or longer to germinate. To hasten germination, scarify the seeds or soak them for 3 days prior to planting.

If you live in a tropical zone and wish to plant your sugar apples in the soil, plant them in full sun and 15-20 feet (4.5-6 m.) away from other trees or buildings.

Feed young trees every 4-6 weeks during the growing season with a complete fertilizer. Apply a 2- to 4-inch (5-10 cm.) layer of mulch around the tree to within 6 inches (15 cm.) of the trunk to retain moisture and regulate soil temperature.

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Fruits Home Full List of Fruits Custard Apple

Sugar Apple: Sugar Apple is a «Sweetsop». It is most widely cultivated of all the species of Annona, being grown widely throughout the tropicals and warmer subtropicals. It is a deciduous or semi-evergreen shrub or small tree with size of 8 m tall. The leaves are looks like simple, oblong-lanceolate, 7-12 cm long and 3-4 cm broad in length. The flowers are formed in clusters of 3-4, each flower, with six petals, yellow-green spotted purple at the bottom.

Taste — The fruit is generally looks like a round in shape, a little pine cone-like 2.4-3.9 in diameter. There are variations in shape and size. The fleshy fruit is very sweet to taste, white to light yellow, and resembles and tastes like custard. The edible portion coats of the seeds of this fruit generously like a gooey portion of a tomato seeds. Sugar-apple has a very discrete, sweet-smelling fragrance. It is a little grainy, a bit oily, very sweet and very soft.

Look -The Sugar-apple, also called bullock’s heart or bull’s heart, is the fruit that tree is a family of Annon reticulata». This tree is a small deciduous or semi-evergreen tree sometimes it will reaches a high of 10 mtrs in tall and a native of the tropical that prefers low elevations, and a warm, humid climate.The fruits are always variable in shape, oblong, or irregular. The size ranges from 7 cm to 12 cm. When ripen the fruit it will become a brown or yellowish, with red highlights and a varying degree of reticulation, depending on variety. The flavor is sweet and pleasant.

Scientific Name:Annona reticulata

However, home landscape trees may be found by the side of the southeastern shore of Lake and in warm, protected locations beside the lower east and west coasts. Sugar apples are a common fruit tree in the home landscape throughout the tropicals and have been widely planted in south Florida. Small, open, spreading to upright tree with long, small branches trees are rarely exceed 15 to 20 ft in height and spread.

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