Sweetsop

Where does Sweetsop grow?

Found in: Africa, Amazon, Andamans, Antigua and Barbuda, Antilles, Asia, Australia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Central Africa, Central America, China, Colombia, Congo DR, Cook Islands, Cuba, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, Fiji, French Guiana, Gabon, Ghana, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guianas, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Martinique, Mexico, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Northeastern India, North America, Pacific, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Reunion, Rotuma, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Sudan, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Trinidad-Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, United States, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Yemen

Notes: There are about 100-150 Annona species. Chemicals in the seeds are being investigated as medicine. They have anticancer properties. The bark has chemicals against prostrate cancers.

Status: It is a cultivated fruit tree. It is popular. It is fairly common in coastal areas of Papua New Guinea especially near Port Moresby

Growing Sweetsop

Cultivation: They are normally grown from seeds and the seeds retain their viability for several years. It is better to grow sweetsops from fresh seeds and it is best to soak seeds for 3 days before sowing. Seeds germinate and start to grow 50 to 70 days after planting. The fruit is borne on old and new wood. As the fruit is more commonly on new wood, pruning is an advantage. Trees can be budded or grafted. A small branch of a selected variety is grafted onto another seedling sweetsop. Plants are very hard to get to grow from cuttings. A spacing of 6 m apart is suitable for sweetsop trees. The fruit is eaten raw. The sweet soft fleshy layer around the seeds can be eaten raw. When the fruit is ripe it is easy to separate the different soft fleshy parts of the fruit. Often it is easiest and best to harvest the fruit when they are nearly ripe and then let them ripen in a warm place.

Edible Uses: The fruit is eaten raw. It is also used in ice cream. The juice is used for drinks. CAUTION: The seeds, leaves and roots are poisonous. Both an alkaloid, and hydrocyanic acid have been shown to occur in these parts of the plant.

Production: The tree is slow growing. Trees can start to produce fruit 2 years after they are planted. A tree can produce 100 fruit. Fruit are often 200-300 g each. The pulp is 20% sugar.

Nutrition Info

Sweetsop Photos

References

Sweetsop references Annona squamosa

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