Home / Atemoya / Atemoya: growing this unusual and delicious fruit.

Atemoya: growing this unusual and delicious fruit.

Posted by: Thomas Osborne, Md in Atemoya August 19, 2013 50501 Views

Atemoya

( Annona cherimola × squamosa )

Atemoya overview:

The atemoya is a succulent hybrid of ii fruits (the saccharide-apple and the cherimoya)

atemoya fruit almost ready to pick

A large atemoya fruit which is set to pick

Atemoya fruit advent:

The fruit is heart-shaped or rounded and ranges in size from viii in to 12 in length. Increased fruit size and number of fruit is obtained by hand pollination or planting some other atemoya nearby.
The sparse pare/rind is pale-light-green and tends to yellow a bit as it ripens. The flesh is snow white with many hard black seeds. The black seeds are inedible/toxic.

A developing atemoya fruit with very prominent areoles

A young atemoya fruit with very prominent areoles

The outer surface of the fruit usually has many stubby similar projections called areoles.
- As a side, this is somewhat interesting to me because the give-and-take areolas is the medical name for the pigmented expanse around the human being nipple.
- Therefore, whoever originally described these bumps patently imagined the fruit covered in nipples.
- On that note, I take noticed that some fruit take larger areoles than others and that the fruit tend to flatten out as they go older… I digress.

A cut atemoya fruit showing the white flesh and black seeds

A cut atemoya fruit, ready to eat

Atemoya fruit sense of taste:

The atemoya fruit can exist difficult to draw. When pressed, many simply say it tastes like nothing else.
The texture is solid but melting and juicy, similar to custard or flan but more juicy than creamy.
There is a subtle background grittiness that is almost identical to a typical pear. Overall the sense of taste is tropical but difficult to pivot down. It is very sweet with a proffer of Piña colada or vanilla. Some have reported that it is a trivial tart or acrid, which I haven't personally noticed.
Overall, the atemoya tastes rather like to a cherimoya in flavor; the major departure between the two plants being the atemoya tree's espalier-like growth habit.
Update 9/19/15: A fellow contributing reader has added that Atemoya tastes like "the perfect version of 'Mango Float' that hangs on the tree." That is a groovy description. Thanks Requintto!

Video taste:

My male parent in police force often talked near how wonderful it was to swallow atemoya fruit in the Philippines… sometimes lamenting that he hasn't had whatever to eat since he left the Philippines decades ago. Therefore, I idea I would try to being the fruit to him in my backyard garden. The video below is of me asking him and his wife to depict the taste of the atemoya fruit as he devours it.

Atemoya fruit season:

I have read that in Florida, the atemoya ripens in the fall. However, for me (in San Diego California) the flavour for fruit is rather different. In my experience, there are ii major fruit picking seasons. 1 is June to August and the other big season for picking fruit is from Jan to April.
The tree starts to fruit when around 4 years old.

When is atemoya fruit ripe to pick:

This is important considering if picked too soon, the atemoya fruit will not ripen.
Nonetheless, there are several signs to help you decide if the atemoya fruit is set to option. The most reliable sign that I take noticed is that the peel of the fruit turns from light-green to lighter green-yellow. In addition, the bumps on the skin of the atemoya fruit (the areoles)tend to flatten out when the fruit is prepare to selection. I accept also noticed that the stem zipper to the fruit begins to separate at the edges at optimal picking time. The fruit is oftentimes hard at this betoken merely may feel a tad scrap softer than the greener fruit nearby. If you run across these changes you should be in practiced shape to choice the fruit.
If yous permit the fruit to hang on the tree a bit longer, it will oft continue to become softer to the bear on. If you wait too long, the fruit volition start to get blackness and spoil on the tree… or drib off the tree and then rot. Sometimes the fruit volition drop off the tree and exist perfectly ready, merely this is a take chances.
The pesky squirrels will besides detect the softer fruit more than appealing and therefore y'all might observe yourself competing with these raiders for the ripe and prepare atemoya'southward hanging on the tree. Finally, I have noticed that sometimes the seeds volition start to germinate within the atemoya fruit that is picked later on. At this phase, the blackness part of the seeds can sometimes mingle within the juicy flesh. Considering the seeds are poisonous, this black seed stained flesh may not be the best thing to swallow.
Anyhow, if you pick or buy the atemoya fruit when it is difficult, you take to permit it ripen before you eat it. Allow the atemoya fruit to ripen in a dark area at room temp for a few days until it feels lightly soft to touch. Ripening and softness is like to an avocado.

atemoya fruit just ripe enough to pick

The atemoya fruit in this film shows merely a tinge of yellow at the top (between the areoles) which was just enough to allow the fruit to ripen off the tree.

Contributing reader Bob sent in this pic of his atemoya tree with two fruits on it. In his March 3rd 2015 comment below, he is interested in knowing if the fruit in the picture are ready to pick yet. In my opinion, the atemoya fruit on meridian is more ready than the one on the bottom because the bumps on the surface of the fruit are flattening out on the top fruit. This is not a perfect scientific discipline, however, if it was me, I would wait a bit longer until the green colour of the fruit lightens upward a bit. I would like to meet more of the green-xanthous colour on the fruit. Also noticed on the right side of the picture… awesome use of a puddle cue stick as a found back up. Lol, expert one Bob.

Landscaping use:

The tree naturally grows as an espalier, which makes it a great addition to narrow planting spaces.
In my experience it is a medium to fast-growing tree, and is said to be able to reach 30+ anxiety in superlative. However, information technology is easily trained with pruning in the dormant flavor. The wood is breakable then pruning also helps the tree to support the heavy fruit.
The branches droop somewhat and the lowest branches frequently bear upon the ground.
Young plants need staking.
The leaves are green with a prominent lite greenish central vein.
The atemoya is semi deciduous; losing some of its leaves in late wintertime/early leap.

Atemoya Pollination:

The flowers are green elongated and easily missed on casual inspection.
An atemoya flower demonstrates its male and female person parts at different times of the day.
- As the blossom opens, the female person stage is revealed around 2-4pm.
- The following afternoon effectually 3-5pm, the blossom opens more to uncover the male part of the same flower.
Atemoya'due south are sometimes misshapen and underdeveloped on 1 side due to inadequate pollination. Apparently cocky-pollination is rare and therefore, defended gardeners may self pollinate the flowers to increment fruiting and fruit size. However, myself, I just planted two atemoya adjacent to each other and I take been getting some nice fruit without hand pollination.

An atemoya fruit flower is opening to show off its girly parts

An atemoya fruit flower is opening to bear witness off its girly parts

Soil:

The atemoya tree is said to be able to tolerate a wide range of soil types but prefers well draining fertile soil with neutral to slightly acidic pH.
Water-logging is fatal.
The atemoyas shallow root system is prone to drying out and weed competition. However, heavy mulch around the tree's root zone will help to forbid both of these issues.
For my planting technique, delight see the earlier postal service which you lot can get to by clicking on this sentence.

H2o:

I have been watering the atemoya tree with my usual drip organisation irrigation 2-3 x a week in the growing flavor (April to January).
The institute is prone to root rot with prolonged moist conditions.
The copse don't seem to similar the dry air of the desert where the leaves are easily damaged by dry out Santa Ana winds.

Lord's day:

Full

Atemoya fertilization:

In many commercial plantings, no fertilizer is applied until afterwards the trees are well established considering the young roots are very sensitive.
After the atemoya tree is established, some take recommended the employ a 6-10-16 fertilizer formula, with half of the total years dose given in the spring.
Personally, I accept been using 15-15-15 because that is what I have on hand nearly of the time. I spread the fertilizer around the root zone well-nigh 4 different times per year starting in the late winter and catastrophe in mid-summer.

Temp:

The parents of the atemoya are subtropical plants native to northwest parts of Southward America and traditionally grown in cool mountain altitudes at the equator.
The plant can withstand a calorie-free frost simply not much more than that. However, the constitute has been reported to survive a drop in temperature to 26.five°F (-iii.10°C).
For more than information most the lowest temperatures that you can look in your expanse, bank check out my article "Climate Zones: What can I grow in my yard?"

Atemoya pests:

The primary pests in California are mealybugs and scale.
- Tanglefoot on masking tape around the body helps keep the ants away that bring in the mealybugs and scale.
I have besides read that you lot shouldn't plant this tree in one-time vegetable gardens, virtually tomatoes, eggplant or asters because atemoya are susceptible to the same soil diseases.
Atemoyas are also susceptible to Armillaria (Oak Root Fungus) and Verticillium.
Squirrels accept also discovered the atemoya fruit. Therefore, I continue a shut centre on the fruit and pick them a lilliputian early because I don't like to share with my rodent neighbors. The Havahart squirrel trap is one good-karma control option.

I found some additional diseases to be aware of on the hort purdue website. The following are direct quotes from the site.

The chalcid fly that lays eggs in the seeds and makes go out holes in the fruit permitting entrance of fungi, occasionally causes mummification of the atemoya. White wax, pinkish wax, and brown olive scales may be constitute on the leafage merely are shed along with the leaves.
A condition called "littleleaf" is non a illness but zinc deficiency which can be corrected past foliar spraying.
Atemoyas are prone to collar rot (Phytophthora sp.), the first sign being an exudation of gum about the base of the body and on the crown roots.

Food Use:

Atemoya fruit tastes great fresh, but it tastes all-time when chilled.
It is often added to desserts.
Some make ice cream out of it.
Note: the Atemoya fruitseeds are toxic, so don't go putting this fruit in a blender before taking the seeds out.

Misc:

The atemoya, is a hybrid of two fruits – the carbohydrate-apple (Annona squamosa) and the cherimoya (Annona cherimola)
The first reported intended cantankerous that I have found, was made in 1908 by P.J. Wester, a horticulturist at the USDA's Subtropical Laboratory in Miami. Withal, I suspect natural crosses happen its native habitat.
The name, "atemoya", is a combination of ate, an quondam Mexican name for sugar-apple, and "moya" from cherimoya.
The atemoya is as well known as: pineapple sugar apple, betimes, chirimorinon, achta, cuatemoya, atis, ates.
Some people have chosen the atemoya an ashta tree merely most references refer to the ashta tree as another proper noun for the carbohydrate apple… and the sugar apple is a unlike found (information technology is one of the parents of the atemoya).

achta Annona cherimola × squamosa anon areoles ashta Atemoya atemoya diseases Atemoya flowers Atemoya Fruit Appearance Atemoya fruit season Atemoya Fruit Taste Atemoya pests Atemoya Pollination atemoya tree atemoya tree watering ates atis California cherimoya chirimorinon cuatemoya how to ripen atemoya naturally grows as an espalier pineapple carbohydrate apple tree sugar-apple toxic seeds when to pick atemoya 2013-08-19

Tagged with: achta Annona cherimola × squamosa betimes areoles ashta Atemoya atemoya diseases Atemoya flowers Atemoya Fruit Appearance Atemoya fruit season Atemoya Fruit Taste Atemoya pests Atemoya Pollination atemoya tree atemoya tree watering ates atis California cherimoya chirimorinon cuatemoya how to ripen atemoya naturally grows as an espalier pineapple sugar apple saccharide-apple toxic seeds when to option atemoya

Well-nigh Thomas Osborne, Md

Dr. Osborne is a Harvard trained Radiologist and Neuroradiologist who loves to share his insight about medicine and gardening.

urquhartreares.blogspot.com

Source: https://tastylandscape.com/2013/08/19/atemoya-growing-this-unusual-tropical-fruit/

Atemoya Tropical Fruit Trees 50 Out of 5 Stars 1 Reviews