Seethaphal

• Among the annonaceous fruits, only Seethaphal and Atemoya, a hybrid between Seethaphal and Cherimoya (Annona Cherimola) are of commercial importance.

Varieties

Balanagar

• It is a local seedling variety collected from Balanagar area of Mahaboobnagar district (A.P). The fruit quality is good. Fruit size big with large tubercies and blenty of very sweet pulp.

Red seethaphal

• The fruits are purple coloured and the leaves of the plant are purplish at the midrib. Sweet in taste but seeds are many. This variety has got the disadvantage of developing stone fruits. Its seedlings come true to type and are very prolific.

Washington P.1107005

• This is an introduced variety. The fruit is large, pulpy, few seeded and greenish white in colour. Bearing is sparse.

British guinea

• Fruit large greenish white in colour, pulpy, few seeded, quality good bearing sparse. Fruit kept for about a week after ripening without spoilage.

Island gem

• This is an Australian variety, the fruit is very large in size, smooth, surface, very large segments very pulpy, very sweet, excellent flavour, bearing is sparse, fruits irregular in shape, keeps for about a week.

Atemoya

• This is a hybrid between Seethaphal and Cherimoya, Atemoya grows to a height of about 5.6m and has luxuriant growth. Hence, planting distance must be 7mx7m. Ripe fruits are whitish green in colour, juicy, delicious pulpy with an excellent acidic flavour, very few seeded. Keeping quality good, can be kept even upto 10 days, bearing is erratic. For every 8-10 plants of Atemoya, one plant of custard applo should be planted in the middle to act as polleniser plant. Otherwise the bearing of Atemoya will be poor and erratic. Atemoyas fruits will come to harvest from October to December.

Pink’s mammoth

• This is a variety of Atemoya, introduced from Australia. The fruit is very large, avoid, pulpy, delicious, very few seeded and round segments, excellent in quality, bearing is poor. Fruits are irregular in shape. Fruits kept for about a week after ripening without damage.

Propagation

• By venier grafting on its own root stock.

Soils / Climate

• Seethaphal grows on variety of soils. The sandy, marginal and waste lands may be utilized for growing these fruits. Since water/logging causes tree decline, heavy soils with poor drainage, sub-soils with hard pan or high water table are to be avoided. Seethaphal is capable of growing in soils having upto 50 percent lime and 300ppm of chlorine in irrigation water.
• Areas with high humidity, occasional rains and warm temperature are ideal for seethaphal in terms of fruit set and development.

Planting

• Pits (50x50cm) are dug and filled with a mixture of 20kg farmyard manure and 300g fertilizer mixture of urea, superphosphate and muriate of potash in equal proportion at least a fortnight before planting. Planting is done in rainy season at a distance of 5mx5m.

Manures and fertilizers

• The bearing trees of seethaphal should be given 250g N, 125 g P₂O₅,125g K₂O per plant before the commencement of rainy season. The Atemoya should be fertilized with 450g N, 450 g P₂O₅, 450g K₂O per plant of about 5 years age.

Interculture

• In the initial years of planting, intercrops like groundnut, minor millets and linseed can be grown during rainy season and pea, oilseeds and gram during winter season.
• Seethaphal beers flower on the current season growth and very rarely on older wood. The early completion of leaf fall is essential for the initiation of new growth. Therefore manual defoliation during the mid-summer is recommended.

Irrigation

• Seethaphal does not require irrigation as it prefers semi-arid conditions. For Atemoya, after manuring an irrigation may be given. Afterwards when the fruits are developing 1 or 2 irrigations will improve fruit size and yield.

Harvesting

• Harvesting should be done at proper stage of maturity. Fruits are harvested when the colour is light green, segments become flat, the interspaces between segments become yellowish white and initiated cracking of the carpels. Fully mature fruits open in 2-3 days after harvest. The temperature between 15 and 30⁰C and low relative humidity accelerates the process of ripening.

Post harvest technology

• The seethaphal fruits can be stored at 15-20⁰C temperature, 85-90% relative humidity, low oxygen and ethylene tension and 10% CO₂. Wax emulsion @ 8 per cent also extends the storage life.

Plant protection

• Seethaphal is generally free from the attack of any serious pests or diseases.

Disorders

Stone fruits

• Some fruits instead of attaining full size, remain very small and become brown and dry up. These are known as stone fruits, which are retained on tree for a long period. Competition among the developing fruits and high temperture are supposed to cause stone fruit formation.

Fruit cracking

• This usually happens from a heavy rainfall or irrigation after a prolonged dry spell. Evenly distributed irrigation schedule and constant and uniform moisture level in the soil will reduce this problem.

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