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Specifications
Family | Annonaceae |
Common Name | Custard apple |
Telugu Name | Sitaphal |
Flowering | Greenish flowers appear singly or in pair in JuneĀ & July. |
Fruiting | Fruits ripen in September to December. |
Introduced from the West Indies but now naturalised everywhere. It grows on a variety of soils. Identified by thin grey bark and oblong lanceolate leaves with peculiar smell. This species is recommended for afforestation of bare, eroded and denuded areas. It is a light demander, drought resistant and good copplcer.
Morphology of the Fruit/Seed : Carpels united into a large fleshy fruit, 5 to 10 cm diameter, warty, greyish black when ripe. Seeds numerous, embedded in a sweet pulp: Seeds oblong and brownish black.
Seed Collection and Storage : Ripe fruits are collected in September. Seeds are cleaned off their pulp and dried in the sun. Seeds do not retain their viability long.
Pretreatment : Not required.
Nursery Technique : Seedlings can be raised by putting the seeds in polythene bags. Germination takes place within 8 to 10 days. Watering is to be done regularly and one year old seedling is planted.
Seed Biology
No. of seeds per Kg. | Germination percentage | No. of seedlings per Kg. of seed |
400 to 500 | 70 to 80 | 280 to 350 |