The 2012 ASHS Annual Conference

Sapodilla [Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen] has been long cultivated for its high quality fruit and latex which is used to make chicle (chewing gum). Tasting similarly to a pear doused in brown sugar, it is a highly esteemed fruit in tropical areas.  With origins in Central America and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, the sapodilla is also cultivated in tropical and subtropical parts of the world; particularly in southern and southeast Asia, Venezuela and Florida.  Fairchild Tropical Botanic Gardens, University of Florida–Tropical Research and Education Center, and USDA–ARS–SHRS, all located in southern Florida, have 42 clones of cultivars collectively in their ex situ collections with origins in Central and South America, Mexico, Florida, Hawaii, and Thailand. These cultivars are not well characterized and there is much confusion of their proper identities.  The purpose of this study is to clarify confusion of the identity of the sapodilla cultivars in the aforementioned collections, evaluate these clones in the collections under local conditions, and determine their potential for both commercial and home growers.  Data will include morphological, horticultural, phenological and fruit characteristics. Preliminary data has shown distinct differences in morphology and fruit characteristics as well as provided a framework for determining what characteristics are valuable for differentiating cultivars in the field.