Thank you for the detailed presentation on custard apple. I have learned many new things about this fruit.

2. An Assignment Presentation
On
“Custard apple”
Submitted to:- Submitted by:-
Dr. H. N. Leua Joshi Nikunj K.
Assi. Professor M.Sc. Horticulture
College of Horticulture
SDAU, Jagudan

3. Custard Apple

4. Custard apple
 Botanical name :- Annona squamosa
 Family :- Annonaceae
 Origin :- Tropical America
 Ch. No :- 2n=14
 Synonyms :- Sitaphal, sugar apple, sweet sop.

5. INTRODUCTION
 Custard apple are delicious fruits and are used when they
are full ripe.
 Pleasant flavor, mild aroma and sweet taste have a
universal acceptance.
 Cultivation of custard apple is prevalent in Australia,
Brazil, Chile, Egypt, India.
 In India custard apple is under cultivation throughout the
southern part and in Assam, Bihar, AP, MP, UP, MH.

6. AREAAND PRODUCTION
 In India, cultivation of custurd apple is done in 44,000 ha
area with 3,67,000 MT production.
 Gujarat produce 61000 tonnes custurd apple and provide
20.53% total share of national production.
 Andhra Pradesh is the major fruit growing state in India
and following by MH, UP, Bihar, Assam.
 In Gujarat, Bhavanagar is largest producer of custard
apple.

7. COMPOSITION
 The large aggregate fruits are composed of peel, pulp,
seeds.
 Fruits contain 45% edible portion, 100gm of which
composition 70.5gm moisture, 23.5gm carbohydrates,
1.6gm protein, 0.4gm fat
 Which is also rich in minerals those are calcium 17mg,
45mg of phosphorous, vitamin-a 37mg and gives 104 k
cal of energy.

8. USES
 Custard apple is the “fruit of poor people”. Pulp is used in ice
creams and puddings.
 Products such as jam, jelly, squash, syrup, nectar, canned
product and a fermented alcoholic beverage.
 Fruits, seeds, leaves and roots of custard apple are valued for
their medicinal properties. As well as used both in ayurvedic
and yunani systems.
 Seeds containing 30% oil which is extracted and used in soap
and paint industries.
 Leaves are used for preparation of blue or black dyes.
 Seeds are used for abortifacient and roots are drastic purgative
agent. Seeds , leaves ,young raw fruits are used for making
insecticides and lice killers.

9. BOTANY
 Growth of the plants are shrubs or small trees growing
up to 5 to 6m.
 The leaves are alternate simple and entire.
 Flowers are born either singly or in small groups,
yellowish green, hermaphrodite. protogynous and
having auxillary bearing habit.
 Fruits are heart shaped, fleshy syncarp formed by the
fusion of the pistils and receptacle, pericarp is the
edible part.
 Pollination is mainly by insects i.e. cross pollination.

11. SPECIES
 Custard apple belongs to family annonaceae, this
family includes 40 genera and genus annona has got 120
species out of which 6 have commercial significance.
A) Annona squamosa : (custard apple, sugar apple,
sweetsop)
 Good quality
 Widely Cultivated in India

13. B) Annona cherimola : (Hanumanphal,
cherimoya)

14. C) Annona reticulata : (bullocks heart, ramphal)

15. D) Annona muricata : (sour soap, mundla,
sitaphal)

16. E) Annona diversifolia : (Ilama)

17. F) Annona glabra : (pond apple , monkey
apple)

18. G) Annona antemoya :(Lakshman Phal)

19. VARIETIES
 Cultivars are grouped based on the external fruit colour.
A. Red type : having red color, smaller
leaves and fruits.
B. Green type : having more popularity
in India.

20. 1) BALANAGAR
 Green skinned fruits with medium size
 High yielding type
2) BRITISH GUINEA
 Fruit weight is about 151gm and 37.9% pulp ,17.9% total
sugar.
3) MAMMOTH
 Fruit weight about 183g/ fruit.
 TSS content: 23%, acidity 0.19%.
 Good quality fruit

21. 4) BARBADOS SEEDLING
 Fruits having high sugar content.
 Fruits having green rind, orange yellow margins.
 Late season variety.
5) RED SITAPHAL
 This variety originated as a chance seedling.
 Fruits are dark pinkish.
 Having average quality and more number of seeds.

22. 6) KAKARLAPAHAD
 Very high yielding variety.
 It is very sweet and crispy in nature.
7) APK (Ca) 1
 Released from RRS, Aruppukottai, TN during 2003.
 Yield- 14.9kg/tree.
 Fruits are medium in size, heart shaped and TSS
24.5*Brix.

23. IMPORTANT HYBRID VARIETIES
1) ARKA SAHAN
 It is crossed between Annona atemoya X Annona
squamosa.
 Released from IIHR, Bangalore.
 Suitable for drought prone areas.
 Fruits having long shelf life and slow ripening
character.
2) AFRICAN PRIDE
 It is crossed between Annona cherimola X
Annona squamosa.
 Having good quality fruits.

24. Recently released variety
TROPICAL SUN:
 Released from Australian Custard apple growers
association (ACAGA).
 Suitable for home gardens.
 Ripening at room temperature.

25. CLIMATE
 Custard apple is adapted widely to tropical climate
and prefers moderate winter and high humidity during
flowering time.
 Trees cannot withstand frost and prolonged cold
weather. Continuous rains during flowering and fruit
set results in poor yields optimum rainfall is 60-80cm.
 Strong wind causes limb damage , heavy flower drop
and fruit damage.
SOIL
 Trees grown in wide variety of soils including sandy,
marginal and wasteland types.

26.  Fertile, well drained sandy loam soils with neutral to
slight acidic PH give better performance.
 Heavy soils and water logged conditions not suitable.
 Water stagnation leads to shriveling of branches and
sudden death of plants. because stagnation should be
avoided.

27. PROPAGATION
 Propagated by both seeds and vegetative propagation
Seed propagation :
 Seeds extracted from ripe fruits are used for sowing.
 Viability of seeds lasts for 3-4 years through best
seeds give best germination.

28.  Before seed sowing seeds are treated, such as seeds
soaking in cold water for 40-70hours are treatment with
GA3(500ppm), improve the germination rate.
Vegetative propagation :
 Grafting : In-situ cleft grafting is used, using the best root
stock are Annona cherimola and Annona squamosa.
 Budding : patch, shield and clip budding.

29. CULTIVATION
Planting :
 The custard apple fruits are planting in the square or
triangular systems.
 Pits are made of 50-60 cubic cm, filled with top soil
and 25-30kg FYM.
 Spacing : 6 X 6m
 Time of planting : During June-July. After 1 or 2
rains the saplings are planted in the centre of the pit.
 Shading, staking and watering should be done to
protect grafts after planting in the main field.

30. Manuring :
 Application of nutrients to custard apple depends upon the
soil and climatic conditions.
 Custard apple trees are well response to fertilizer
application in terms of increased vigour, production and
quality
Recommended By UAS, Dharwad
 1-2 year - 75:50:50 NPK (kg/ha)
 3-5 year - 150:100:100 NPK (kg/ha)
 >5 year - 250:125:125 NPK (kg/ha)

31. TRAINING AND PRUNING
 Strong tree frame work in custard apple is obtained by
training young plants during the initial stages of
growth.
 Keeping single stem up to 50 – 70 cm height and then
inducing scaffold branches in all directions makes
good frame work of tree.
 To avoid crowding, proper space among the branches
is maintained by removing criss - cross and over
lapping branches.
 Custard apple generally bears on the new growth but
some times fruiting also comes on old branches.
 Therefore, suitable combination of young and old
branches should be maintained by judicious pruning
and which balancing the vegetative and reproductive
growth.

32. FLOWERING AND FRUITSET
 Plants starts bearing after 3-4 years.
 Flowering period commences from March-April and
continuous to July – August, the peak timing April
and May.
 Very low fruit set in custard apple is a problem under
natural conditions, 1 – 8% fruit set is reported.
 The main reason being poor pollination due to various
external and internal factors like dichogamy,
hypogyny.
 The external factors like high and low humidity
prevailing at the time of flowering , soil moisture
stress.

33.  Hand pollination can be practiced to increase fruit set to
get better sized fruit and ensure better market price.
 Fruits can be improved by application of growth
regulators, GA (50ppm) at blooming stage, Biocil
(1ml/litre) just prior to flowering.

34. HARVESTING
 Custard apple is a climacteric fruit, which ripens after
harvesting hence should be harvested at matured
stage.
 Fruits mature in about 100 -120 days from anthesis.
Maturity indices:-
 Changing fruit colour in to light green.
 Fruits has attained full size.
 Yellowish white colour has been developed between
the segments.
 Initial cracking in carpels.

35. Post harvest management:
 Fruit has very poor shelf life therefore for distant markets.
 Harvesting comparatively harder fruits is advised.
 Fruits harvested before proper maturity do not ripe well
and remain less sweet.
 Arka sahana has better shelf life.

36. YIELD
 A well managed grown up custard apple plant can produce
80- 100 fruits/ tree.
 Arka sahana hybrid produces 25 tonnes fruits/ ha.
 Older trees rarely exceed 100 fruits/ tree unless hand
pollination.

37. PLANT PROTECTION
PESTS
1) Mealy bugs
DISEASES;-
1) Anthracnose – Colletotrichum gloeosporiodes.
2) Alternaria leaf spot- Alternaria alternata.

38. Sources
- National Horticulture Board (NHB) (2015-2016)
- Horticultural Statistics at a Glance 2017
- Handbook of Horticulture by K.L. Chadhdha
- Textbook of pomology by T.K.Boss