Cultivation Of Fruits Of The Annonaceae In Florida

Many species and cultivars of Annonaceae have been introduced anf tested in Florida. The atemoya (Annona chertmola x A. squamosa) and the sugar apple (A. squamosa) are now grown commercially and production is increasing. Cherimoya (A. cherimote, ilama (A diversitotie], soursop (A. muricete}, custard apple (A. reticutete} and biriba (Ro/linia putcbrlnervisl are grown in home gardens for their edible fruits. The mountain soursop (A. montana) and pond apple (A. glabra) are grown as ornamental trees and as rootstocks. The most important limiting factor to annona cultivation in Florida is freeze injury. Biriba, ilama and soursop are especially susceptible to cold injury. The cherimoya does not produce fruit well because the climate is too hot. AU of the annonas can be grown from seed, but superior selections can be reproduced true-to-type only by vegetative propagation. Veneer-grafting and chip-budding are the preferred methods. Superior selections of atemoya, sugar apple, i1ama and soursop are propagated in this way, Custard apple and atemoya are' used most commonly as rootstocks, but more research is needed because of problems with incompatibility. Important pests and diseases include the annona seed borer, Bephate/loides cubensls, a fruit rot, caused by the fungus Coltetotricbum qtoeosporioides, and a leaf rust caused by the fungus Phakopsora cherimoliae. Research is needed on effective means of control. ----- Se han introducido muchas especies y variedades de la familia Annonaceae el estado de Florida. Hay produccion commercial de la atemoya (Annona cherimola x A. squamosa) y del anon (A. squamosa) y esta produccion esta incrementado. La chirimoya (A. cherimote]. la ilama (A diversifolia) la guanabana ~A. muricaf'a) el corazon (A. reticutete) la biriba (Ro/linia pulchrlnervisl se cultivan para sus frutas comestibles en los huertos caseros. La guanabana cimarrona (A.montana) y el guanfbana de corcho (A. glabra) se utilizan como portainjertos y como arboles ornamentales. EI fa.ctor que mas Iimita la produccion de las anonaceas en Florida son las heladas invemales, La birib{,la llama y la guan~rbana son especialmente susceptibles al daifo de temperaturas bajas. Por otro lado, la chirimoya no produce bien a causa del clima caliente. Todas las annoaceas pueden ser propagadas por semilla, pero las plantas procedentes de semilla son variables. Selecciones superiores deben ser propagados vegetativamente, Los rnetodos preferidos en Florida son el injerto de chapa lateral y el injerto de yema de astilla. Las variedades que mas se usan para portainjertos son el corazdn y la atemoya, pero debido a problemas de incompatibilidad se requiere mas investigaci6n de portainjertos, Las plagas y enfermedades importantes incluyen un insector perforador de la semilla (Beonretettoides cubensis), la anthracnosis de la fruta (causada por el hongo Co/letotrichum gloeosporioides) y una roya de la hoja (causada por el hongo Phekopsore cherimotise: Se precisan mas estudios sobre con troles efectivos de estas problemas.