THE GREEN SAPOTE, A NEW FRUIT FOR SOUTH FLORIDA

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1 330 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1965 The recently described Dawn avocado (6) was slow in attaining consumer acceptance, although shrivelling and decay were not present through out the picking period. Even after general con sumer acceptance was met, a few members of the taste panel continued to reject fruit of this variety. The Marcus avocado (frequently called Pumpkin) is the largest sized commercial avo cado grown in Florida. Considerable fruit abscis sion was observed during late September, espe cially on trees with a heavy crop. Buccaneer and Tappen avocados of large sizes met consumer acceptance on the beginning pick ing date, September 28, and some abscission of Buccaneer fruit was observed on that date. Large Sartini avocados also met consumer acceptance on the beginning date, October 12, and some fruit abscission was noted on that date. Although the Gossman avocado has previously been reported to mature in January, February, and March (1) it met consumer acceptance this season on December 21. The Brook's Late avocado is considered a Feb ruary and March avocado, but during these tests it met consumer acceptance in early January. LITERATURE CITED 1. Campbell, Carl W Report of the subtropical fruit variety committee, Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 71: Harding, Paul L The relation of maturity to quality in Florida avocados. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 67: Hatton, T. T., Jr., Paul L. Harding, W. F. Reeder, J. N. Yeatman and W. H. Krome Fruit weights and corresponding diameters for Florida avocados. U.S.D.A. AMS 515, 11 p. 4., Paul L. Harding, and W. F. Reeder Seasonal changes in Florida avocados. U.S.D.A. Tech. Bui p and W. F. Reeder Relationship of bloom date to the size and oil content of Booth 8 avocados. Proc. Araer. Soc. Hort. Sci. (Caribbean Region) 7: Popenoe, John, Summer avocado varieties. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 75: The Ruehle avocado. Fla. Agr. Expt. Sta. Circ. S p. 8. Soule, M. J. and Paul L. Harding Relation of maturity of Florida avocados to physical characters. Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 68: U. S. Agricultural Marketing Service Marketing Agreement No. 121 and Order No. 915 Avocados grown in South Florida. (Prior to 1962 this order was identified as Marketing Order No. 69, it was renumbered under a general recodification of marketing orders.) THE GREEN SAPOTE, A NEW FRUIT FOR SOUTH FLORIDA Wm. F. Whitman1 The green sapote (Calocarpum viride Pittier) is indigenous to the highlands of Central America where this handsome large tree, with dark green foliage, reaches a height of about 40 feet. It is considered by many to be one of the best of the Sapotaceous fruits. Appearance-wise it resembles the mamey sapote (C. mammosum) to which it is closely related. Features disting uishing the two are the green sapote's smaller leaf size, its satiny brownish pubescence covering the midribs and veins of the undersides of the leaves, its slightly wavy leaf appearance, its rougher textured bark of the trunk and its smaller fruit. Young seedling trees, lacking these differences which develope with age, can be diffi cult for the uninitiated to identify from its near "look alike twin", the mamey sapote. A search of records for early introductions reveals that Reasoner Brothers (Royal Palm Nurseries) catalogue offered a number of Sapotaceous fruits including the mamey sapote but no mention is made of the green l 189 Bal Bay Drive, Bal Harbour, Florida Affiliation: Rare Fruit Council of South Florida. sapote. The first U.S.D.A. green sapote introduc tion was made in 1913 under the botanical name of Achradelpha viridis to be followed by five additional introductions of the same fruit in No record of their trial at the Miami, Flor ida U.S.D.A. Stations was found. Further seed introductions, which were listed at the Miami U.S.D.A. Stations, were made in 1916, 1929, 1941, and These reached a total of 157 seeds, none of which lived to become bearing trees. In 1929 the new name of Calocarpum viride replaced the former botanical name of Archadelpha viridis on the station's records. Green sapote introductions at the Sub-Tropical Experiment Station in Homestead, Florida started in 1934 with a shipment from Honduras. This was followed by three introductions in 1946 and one each in 1948, 1950, 1956, 1959 and While all those made prior to 1956 failed to sur1" vive, Ruehle (6) reported "Trees 8 to 10 feet tall, growing well at the Sub-Tropical Experi ment Station, were killed by flood water in 1948." From an inspection of the available records it appears the most frequent single cause for a lack of success with green sapote introduc tions was the failure of the seeds to germinate.

2 WHITMAN: GREEN SAPOTE 331 vi-

3 332 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1965 Wilson Popenoe (3) in his Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits published in 1920, re ported on page 344 "This species (the green sapote) has been planted recently in California and in Florida. It is more likely to succeed in the latter state than the sapote (mamey sapote), since it is somewhat more frost-resistant. It is doubtful, however, whether it will survive temperatures below 27 or 28 degrees above zero." Again on page 343 he states "It is most abun dant in Northern Guatemala (the Alta Verapaz), where it grows usually at elevations of 4000 to 6000 feet. Unlike its relative the sapote, it does not thrive in the hot lowlands. The lower limit of its cultivation is approximately 3000 feet, the upper between 6000 and 7000 feet". From Popenoe's remarks it would appear that the green sapote would be more cold tolerant than the related mamey sapote. However Camp bell (2) reports "Young green sapote trees have had higher mortality at this station (Sub-Tropi cal Experiment Station) than young mamey sapote trees. There is reason to think that they are perhaps less cold hardy than mamey sapote". Observations by the writer would tend to con firm Campbell's statement. In the other direction, temperature-wise, the question raised "Is Florida too much like Guatemala's hot lowlands during the summer months?". While this is undoubtedly a factor to be reckoned with, it has not, in cer tain instances, prevented the green sapote from bearing under South Florida's climatic conditions. What was believed to be the first instance of the green sapote fruiting in Florida was reported by Whitman and Biebel (7) at the 1962 Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural So ciety. This related that in November 1954 Dr. Wilson Popenoe, then Director of the Escuela $&#&&*) <r-.-:.v&*>mm Florida grown green sapote (Calocarpum viride). Photo by Wm. F. Whitman.

4 WHITMAN: GREEN SAPOTE 333 Agricola Panamericana at Tegucigalpa, Hon duras, sent the writer scionwood of this fruit which was grafted on seedling stocks of the mamey sapote. In a letter dated December 4, 1954 Dr. Popenoe (4) wrote from Honduras stat ing "I suspect that is the first time anyone has made this graft". Of the trees so grafted one at the Brooks-Tower Nursery in Homestead bore several fruit in the late fall of During the autumn and winter of Green sapote (Calocarpum viride) grafted on mamey sapote (c. mammosum) rootstock. Photo by Wm. F. Whitman.

5 334 FLORIDA STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY, 1965 Green sapote (Calocarpum viride) scionwood as prepared one or more months prior to removal for grafting. Photo by Wm. F. Whitman.

6 WHITMAN: GREEN SAPOTE ass another green sapote, which came into bearing for the first time, put on a performance that would tend to indicate these trees are capable of producing relatively good crops under South Florida conditions. The balance of this report is based upon a preliminary observation of this tree and others growing in Dade County, Florida. The green sapote can be propagated from seed, by grafting either on itself or the related mamey sapote and probably also by marcotting. Whether or not it will graft onto other Sapotaceous fruits is believed untried at present. As the seeds remain viable for only a short time after removal from the fruit they should be planted as quickly as possible. Removing the hard shell that surrounds the seed,, prior to planting, aide germination. In grafting success has been ob tained using a side graft. Scionwood of roughly 1/2" in diameter, girdled one or more months prior to grafting has given good results. This is done by cutting through the cambium layer and removing a ring of bark about 1/2" in diameter approximately 6" from the end of the selected branch. In addition to this all leaves except the terminal three or four are cut off. After the girdled branch swells and the dormant buds in crease in size it is ready for grafting. It can then be removed and cut up into shorter piece lengths to make a number of grafts. The green sapote, when grafted onto small seedling mamey sapote, can be expected to reach a height of approximately 14 feet or more within ten years and be ready to bear, assuming good cultural conditions. It is believed the same would hold true for the green sapote on its own rootstock, but as yet no known instance of this fruit ing as such in Florida has been reported. The first crop to be produced by young trees coming into bearing can run close to 75 or more fruit. However this is usually preceded by one or more annual flowerings that fail to set any fruit that holds on to maturity. The small white flowers are born in profusion along the younger branches during late winter or early spring and cross pollination from other trees is not required for fruit setting. In Florida the green sapote fruits from December through March, with the main crop coming in late January. The "top-shaped" fruit averages 2 1/2" in diameter by 3" long with a thin brownish-green skin. The sweet reddishbrown flesh, with a pleasant almond-like flavor contains one or two hard, large shiny dark brown seeds. Fruit picked in advance of ripening on the tree can produce off flavors. In commenting on this fruit Wilson Popenoe (5) wrote, "It is really superior in flavor to the common sapote (C. mammosum), perhaps more like the sapodilla (Achras zapota). Since it seems like a cross be tween these two, as far as flavor is concerned, it is known in Guatemala as "injerto" a hybrid. When grown on the mamey sapote as a rootstock the green sapote makes a slightly larger diameter trunk above the graft union. An uni dentified disease has been known to attack the graft union area causing extensive die-back above the graft. In one case what was suspected to be a fungus disease nearly girdled the graft union. Bordeax-mixture made to a paste consist ency with spray oil added as a sticker was ap plied after removing the diseased tissue, which resulted in a complete recovery. The green sapote is also subject to attack by the Cuban May Beetle (Phyllophaga bruneri Chapin) which eats the leaves. Green sapote trees grafted on mamey sapote probably have identical fertilizer requirements to the mamey sapote. Trees so grafted can maintain satisfactory vigor on rich hammock sand soils with little or no fertilizer after reaching bearing size. On the rocky Redlands soils of South Dade slow decline may set in if an adequate fertilizer schedule is not maintained. A former source of green sapote trees has been the Brooks-Tower Nursery of Homestead, which propagated these for several years on mamey sapote rootstocks. Seedling green sapote trees, grown from locally produced seeds, have been offered at the annual plant sale of the Rare Fruit Council of South Florida. It is suggested that the green sapote could be more widely grown in the warmer areas of South Florida as an attractive dooryard fruit tree, especially since it is winter bearing at a time when other tropical fruits tend to be scarce. For those fortunate enough to already have a ma ture mamey sapote tree, graftwood of the green sapote may be added by top working a part of the tree. By so doing the one tree can produce both these Sapotaceous fruits and the time taken for the green sapote to come into bearing greatly shortened. The introduction of improved varie ties, with fruit up to 5" long (1), could even further the desirability of this already worth while tree.

7 336 Florida state horticultural society, LITERATURE AND PERSONS CITED 1. Barrett, O. W The Tropical Crops. The Macmillan Co., New York. 2. Campbell, C. W Sub-Tropical Experiment Station. Unpublished correspondence. 3. Popenoe, W Manual of Tropical and Sub tropical Fruits. The Macmillan Co., New York. 4. Popenoe, W Unpublished correspondence. 5. Popenoe, W Interesting Indigenous Fruits of Guatemala. The Garden Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, pages 44-46, Mar, /Apr. 6. Ruehle, G. D Miscellaneous Tropical and Sub tropical Florida Fruits. Bulletin 156A. Agricultural Ex tension Service, Gainesville, Florida. 7. Whitman and Biebel Rare Fruit Council Ac tivities Fla. State Hort. Society, Vol. 75. THE JACKFRUIT (Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.):* ITS CULTURE, VARIETIES AND UTILIZATION Julia F. Morton The jackfruit (also known as jack or jak) is an excellent example of a food prized in some areas of the world and allowed to go to waste in others. Where it is truly superfluous in the pres ence of an abundance of popular fruits, as in South Florida, its neglect is reasonable; but in other warm regions, wherever there is a need for nutriment or variety in the diet, knowledge of its preparation and products can enlarge its accept ability and economic value. As a source of fine timber alssf the tree deserves consideration by foresters in Tropical America. 0. W. Barrett wrote in 1928; "The jaks... are such large and interesting fruits and the trees so well-behaved that it is difficult to explain the general lack of knowledge concerning them" (3). No one knows the jackfruit's place of origin but it is believed indigenous to the rainforests of the Western Ghats (36). It is cultivated at ele vations below 4,500 ft. throughout India, Burma, Ceylon, Malaya, southern China and the East Indies and to a limited extent in Queensland, Australia, and Mauritius. In Africa, it is often planted in Kenya, Uganda and former Zanzibar but is unsuccessful in Nyasaland. Though planted in Hawaii prior to 1888 (26), it is still rare there and in other Pacific islands (46) as it is in most of tropical America and the West Indies. It was introduced into northern Brazil in the mid-seventeenth century and is more popu lar there and in Surinam than elsewhere in the New World. In 1782, plants from a captured French ship destined for Martinique were taken to Jamaica (36) where the tree is now common, and about 100 years later the jackfruit made its *Syns.: A. integrifolius, A. integrifola, A. integer, A. integra, of various authors (36). ldirector, Morton Collectanea, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. appearance in Florida, presumably imported by the Reasoner nursery from Ceylon (30). The United States Department of Agriculture's Report on the Conditions of Tropical and Semitropical Fruits in the United States in 1887 states: "There are but few specimens in the State. Mr. Bidwell, at Orlando, has a healthy young tree, which was killed back to the ground, however, by the freeze of 1886" (54). There are today less than a dozen bearing jackfruit trees in South Florida and these are valued mainly as curiosities. Many seeds have been planted over the years but few seedlings have survived, though the jackfruit is hardier than its close relative, the breadfruit. Description The tree is handsome and stately, 30 to 70 ft. tall (6Q)f with glossy, somewhat leathery (40) leaves to 9 in. long (19), oval on mature wood, sometimes oblong or deeply lobed on young shoots (46). All parts contain a sticky, white latex. Short, stout flowering twigs emerge from the trunk and large branches, or even from the soilcovered base of very old trees. The tree is mono ecious: tiny male fllowers are borne in oblong clusters 2 to 4 in. in length; the female flower clusters are elliptic or rounded (40). Largest of all tree-borne fruits, the jackfruit may be 8 in. (43) to 3 ft. long (46) and 6 in. to 20 in. wide (19) and the weight ranges from 10 to 40 lbs. or more. Some are reported to attain as much as 100 or 110 lbs. (16) but Singh et al. gives 60 lbs. as the maximum (64). Naik says "an individual fruit weighing even up to 80 lbs. is not unknown" (45). The "rind" or exterior of the compound or aggregate fruit is green (53) or yellow when ripe* (19) and composed of numerous hard, conelike points attached to a thick and rubbery, pale-