ASHS 2015 Annual Conference

The demand for tropical fruits has increased more than 33% during the last decade as consumers seek healthy and more diverse food products.  There is a lack of formal experimentation to determine yield performance and fruit quality traits of atemoya (Annona squamosa x A. cherimola) cultivars.  Six atemoya cultivars (Bradley, Geffner, Lisa, Priestly, 47-18, and 75-9) grown on an Oxisol soil were evaluated for three years at Isabela, Puerto Rico.  Preliminary data indicates that there are no significant differences in marketable fruit production between ‘Geffner’ and ‘Lisa’, which averaged 8,628 fruit/ha. Significantly higher yield of marketable fruit was obtained by ’Lisa’, averaging 1,814 kg/ha.  Individual weight of marketable fruit was significantly higher in ‘Priestly’ and ’75-9’ which averaged 266.9 g. Significantly higher soluble solids concentration values were obtained from fruit of ’75-9’, ‘Bradley’ and ‘Geffner’, which averaged 24.7%.