How to grow Custard apple in container | Growing Custard apple | Sugar apple

Custard apple (Sugar-apple)

Custard apple trees are a delightful addition to tropical landscapes. Its spherical spreading, thick-trunked sugar apple tree grows to 15-35 feet and produces fragrant, narrow lanceolate leaves. The custard apple’s fruit comes in various sizes and colors, with a creamy flesh inside. This nutritious fruit is rich in vitamins C, A, B2, B3, B5, and B6, as well as fiber, iron, potassium, magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus.

Popular name

It is known in Hindi as Sitafal, Ramphal, Custard Apple in English, Sugar Apple, sweetsop, Ata in Bengali, Nepali Aati, Atis in the Philippines, Ata in Portuguese, and Burmese Awzar thee. 

Overview

Scientific name                   Annona reticulata

Common name                   Custard apple, Sugar apple, Sitafal.

Plant type                              Fruit

Sun required                        Full sun

Soil                                           Sandy loam, well-drained soil

Soil pH                                    7-8 (stony)

Zone                                         8-10

Sowing the seeds

• To ensure successful custard apple seed germination, it’s important to soak the seeds in water for 3 days before planting, followed by placing them on a blotting paper or towel. This process helps to soften the harsh seeds and promotes successful germination.
• Before sowing the seeds, ensure that the small pot has adequate drainage by creating a hole.
• Proceed to add either the prepared soil or Potting Mix to the pot. I always prepare the soil for my plant by mixing a small amount of sand and compost with the soil.
• After filling the soil, put 4 seeds in different places with a depth of 1 inch.
• Afterward, add water to the container and place it in direct sunlight, ensuring that the soil remains damp as germination necessitates warm and humid conditions.
• Custard Apple seeds germinate very rapidly at 18 to 30 degrees Celsius. It takes about 3 weeks to germinate.
• When the plant grows up to 3 to 4 inches, then transplant.

Outdoor planting care

• When selecting a location to plant a custard apple tree, it’s important to choose an area that is warm and sheltered from strong winds to protect the tree’s delicate wood. Damaging winds can harm this tree. If planting in the ground, dig a hole 1 meter deep and enrich the soil with sand and manure.
• When planting in the ground or a container, it’s important to ensure the soil has adequate moisture, which can be maintained by applying a generous layer of organic mulch.
• Prune the custard apple tree by thinning out dense branches to promote new growth, ideally during the winter months.
• It requires regular watering, especially in the Growing Period. Due to under-watering, the fruit can burn in the sunlight directly and more water can cause root rot.

Custard apple in a container

• Use a large container with a drainage hole at the bottom. Fill the container with a mix of well-drained soil, sandy loam, and peat.
• Plant the seed in a 1-inch deep hole, cover it with soil, and keep the soil humid by watering it.
• Ensure that the environment is hot and humid for the custard apple to grow well.
• Avoid dry areas with low humidity and temperatures above 28 degrees Celsius for optimal growth.
• Protect the young sugar apple tree from frost, as it can be fatal. Growing custard apples indoors is not feasible.

To successfully cultivate a sugar apple tree

• It thrives in deep, rich, and adequately moist soil with good drainage. In tropical regions, it can grow in various soil types and wild terrain but tends to yield fewer fruits.
• Regular watering is essential during active growth and flowering, but it should be reduced when the tree becomes dormant in winter to prevent root rot.
• Sugar apple tree (Annona reticulata) benefits from mulching, organic fertilizer, and consistent watering during dry weather.
• Hand-pollinating the flowers using a paintbrush in the morning can enhance fruit production.
• Protect the sensitive sugar apple tree from frost by covering it or relocating it to a place with minimal exposure to frost.

Harvesting

The crop is most beneficial in late winter and spring when popular jeans are out of season, making it worth harvesting once its fruit loses its green color.

Pests and disease

The sugar apple tree is not highly susceptible to pests and diseases, so you can manage them with minimal chemical intervention. Aphids and mealy worms are potential threats to the tree, but they can be effectively controlled without the use of chemicals. When their numbers start increasing, you can resort to using fruit fly traps.

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