Annona Species Monograph.pdf - Crops for the Future

Chapter 5. Ecological Factors
component of natural or semi-natural vegetation, it occurs in grasslands,
thickets and open woodlands.
Sugar apple grows on a wide range of soils from sandy to heavy clays. It is
relatively shallow-rooted and can tolerate salinity to a certain degree. It is
typical of stony soils along rivers, along the coast and on fallow land, as well
as on hills and slopes (Von Maydell, 1986).
5.3 Phenology
Flowering and fruiting seasons differ among annonas, depending upon the
geographic location and climate where they are cultivated. Phenology is
important for planning management, harvesting and commercialisation. In
general, the period from pollination to fruit maturity averages 5 to 6 months.
Annonas adapted to the highest latitudes or altitudes (like cherimoya) are
described as responding to typical seasonal regimes (autumn, winter, spring
and summer). In general, winter is the colder and drier season, and summer
the warmer and wetter one. Most annonas, however, are cultivated in tropical
areas, where temperatures do not vary very much and the seasons are divided
into rainy and dry seasons (see Table 5.1).
The fruiting season of cherimoya in Spain (37° North) occurs at the end of
the dry season (September to October). It is less frequent, but possible, to
harvest it in the wet season (November to December) (Farré and Hermoso,
1997). On the other hand, in Mexico (22.5° North), cherimoya flowering and
fruiting occur in dry and wet seasons (flowering: February to May and
fruiting: March to October), respectively. Fruit development takes around 6
months (Agustín and Alviter, 1996).
Although soursop tends to flower and fruit continuously, there are fruiting
seasons. The fruiting season in Florida (25° North) occurs in the wet season
(June to September) (Mowry et al., 1941). In Mexico, flowering occurs in the
dry season (December to January) and fruiting continues into the wet season
(May to June). In Mexico, a second flowering can also occur in June to July
(wet season) with fruiting from November to January (dry season). In Brazil
(Brasília at 15° South), flowering occurs in the wet season (November to
February) and fruiting during the beginning of the dry season (April to July).
In Puerto Rico and the Caribbean region (15-20° North), the soursop fruiting
season extends from February and March (dry season) to September (wet
season), with a peak in the wet season (June to August) (Bueso, 1980). This
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