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Sapota cultivation

Presentation · December 2020

DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15087.87208

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Prakash Tripathi
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research
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 Sapota cultivation

Dr. P. C. Tripathi
Principal scientist
Division of fruit crops
ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research
Hessaraghatta Lake Post, Bangalore- 560089
 Introduction
The term sapota or sapodilla probably is most commonly used for the vernacular
name of Manilkara zapota L. A number of other fruits, however, are carelessly or
inadvertently called sapotes though of entirely different families. Hence we have
the
Sapodilla or sapota. Manilkara zapota or Achras sapota L. (family Sapotaceae)
White sapote, Casimiroa edulis (family Rutaceae)
Black sapote, Diospyros ebenaster L family Ebenaceae)
Green sapote, Calocarpum viridii (family Sapotaceae)
Yellow sapote, Lúcuma salicifolia (family Sapotaceae)
Sapote, Calocarpum memmosum (family Sapotaceae)
The sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) and sapote (Calocarpum mammosum, are
frequently confused in their nomenclature and usage.
 Introduction
Sapota/Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota (L.) P. Royen)
Family: Sapotaceae
Chromosome number : n=7 (9 or 13)
Native to Central and South America, specifically from Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico

•Sapota is one of the delicious fruit of humid tropical and subtropical regions.
•Sapota is an open pollinated crop; a great deal of variability was thrown up in the
population.
•Its fruits are round or ovoid, brown in outer appearance and very sweet in taste with
almost no evident acidity.
•In India it is grown mainly for its fruits.
•In other countries (South-East Mexico, Gautamala, Honduras, El-salvador and
Nicaragua) the milky latex from bark of trees is used forms base for manufacturing of
chickle or chewing gum.
 Nutritional Value
Constituents Per 100 gram of edible portion
Moisture 73.7 g
Carbohydrate 21.4 g
Protein 0.7 g
Fat 1.1 g
Calcium 28 mg
Phosphorus 27 mg
Iron 2 mg
Ascorbic Acid 6 mg
 Area and production
India is the largest producer of sapota fruit,
Doubled in last decade, being exported also.
Sapota is becoming an important commercial
crop in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil
Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and. The area under
sapota cultivation has increased from 27
thousand ha in 1991-92 to 52 thousand ha. in
2001-02 and production from 3.96 lakh tones
to 5.94 lakh tones. The area and production in
2016-17 were 1.07 lakh ha and 12.84 lakh
tones in 2016-17 (Hotric. Div., MOA&FW, GOI,
2018).
 Major sapota producing states of India
State Area Production Productivity
(‘000 ha) (‘000 MT) (MT/ha)
Karnataka 29.99 350.33 11.68
Gujarat 29.56 326.15 11.03
Maharashtra 17.91 156.42 8.73
Tamil Nadu 6.77 213.79 31.58
Andhra Pradesh 10.33 134.12 12.98
West Bengal 4.32 46.97 10.87
Haryana 1.71 19.54 11.43
Odisha 3.36 15.72 4.68
Telangana 1.51 14.62 9.68
Others 1.7 6.95 4.08
TOTAL 107.16 1284.60 11.99
 Growing belts
State Growing belts

Karnataka Kolar, Bangalore, Chikkamagalu, Belagaum, Raichur

Gujarat Valsad, Navsari, Surat, Junagadh, Bhavnagar

Maharashtra Palghar, Pune, Solapur, Ahmednagar, Osmanabad

Tamil nadu Dindigul, Vellor, Theni, Namakkal, Tirunelveli, Selam,
Virudhunagar
Orissa Baleswar, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jagatsinghpur, Puri, Khurda,
Ganjam
West Bengal South 24-Parganas, Kalmpong I & II, blocks of Darjeeling district.

Andhra Pradesh Prakasam, Guntur, West Godavari, Nellore, East Godavari

 Major sapota producing districts of India

District Area Production Productivity

(‘000 ha) (‘000 MT) (MT/ha)
Kolar (Kar) 3.40 52.32 15.39
Mandya(Kar) 2.20 34.81 15.82
Navsari (Guj) 7.75 98.14 12.66
Junagarh (Guj) 3.69 37.65 10.20
Dindigul (TN) 1.85 65.02 35.15
Vellor (TN) 0.52 18.20 35.00
Palghar (Mah) 3.04 34.05 11.20
Pune(Mah) 2.48 25.64 10.34
Anantpur (AP) 4.12 57.64 13.99
Prakasam (AP) 2.54 25.44 10.02
 Varieties
Round- Cricket Ball, Calcutta Round
Oval - Kalipatti, Kirti barti, Baramasi, Gavarayya
Oblong (Small): Gutti, Jhumkiya
State Varieties grown

Andhra Pradesh Cricket ball, Kalipatti, Calcutta round, Kirthibharathi, Dwarapudi, Pala, PKM-1,
Jonnavalasa I & II, Bangalore, Vavi Valsa
Bihar Baramasi
Gujarat Kalipatti, Pilipatti, Cricket Ball, PKM-1
Karnataka Cricket ball, Kalipatti, Calcutta round, DHS-1, DHS-2
Maharashtra Kalipatti, Dhola Diwani, Cricket ball, Murabba
Orissa Cricket ball, Kalipatti
Tamil Nadu Pala, Cricket ball, Guthi, Co 1, Co 2, PKM-1
Uttar Pradesh Baramasi
West Bengal Cricket ball, Calcutta round, Baramasi, Baharu, Gandhevi Barada
 Released varieties
Varieties Place Year Characteristics
CO-1 TNAU Coimbatore 1972 Cricket Ball x Oval, big long oval fruit. Pulp granular and sweet.
CO-2 TNAU Coimbatore 1974 clonal selection of cv. round fruits, soft and juicy.
Baramasi,
CO-3 TNAU Coimbatore 2000 Cricket Ball x A medium tree with high yield, fruits all
Vavilavalasa through the year
PKM-1 TNAU, Periyakumum 1981 clonal selection from cv. The plants are dwarf with medium sized
Gutti oval fruits, thin peel,soft pulp, very sweet.
PKM-2 TNAU, Periyakumum 1992 Gutti x Kirtibarti high yield, fruits are oblong and oval better
quality.
PKM-3 TNAU, Periyakumum 1994 Gutti x Cricket Ball. Clusters bearing , oval large, early maturing
and tolerant to leaf spot and leaf Webber.
PKM-4 TNAU, Periyakumum 2003 open pollinated progeny tree is in spindle shape , suitable for
of PKM-1 processing
PKM-5 TNAU, Periyakumum 2007 open pollinated Oval shaped fruits with smooth, light
seedlings brown colour. Pulp is crispy, retains
coppery brown at ripening
DHS-1 UAS, Dharwad 1991 Kalipatti x Cricket Ball vigorous growing plant with round to
oblong fruits, high yield, sweet.
DHS-1 UAS, Dharwad 1991 Kalipatti x Cricket Ball bigger round fruits
 Sapota varieties available at IIHR
Variety Variety Variety Variety
Kalipatti Simhoudi PKM- 5 Singapore
Chala collection -1 Ulavapadu Pala Krishnarao
Chala collection -2 Brazilean Seedless Extra large
Sapota
Chala collection -3 DHS 2/1 Oval Calcutta Round
Paria collection Virudhanagar Gutti DHS-1
Cricket Ball Pakala Round Jhumakiya DHS-2
Bhuripatti Mohangooti Badami Cricket ball Udupi
Murabba Pilipatti Badam Variegated Sapota
Indo French China Dwarapudi Gujrat collection Gavaraiah
Tagrampudi PKM-1 Guruvayya CO-1
IIHRS-63 PKM-2 Kirtibarti CO-2
Mirindi PKM-3 Bombay CO-3
Columbian sapota PKM-4 Vavilavalasa
 Climate and Soil

Climate
Sapota is a tropical fruits but can be grown under sub-tropical The optimum
temperature is 15-38 o C) and 70% Relative humidity. It flowers and fruits
throughout the year. In subtropics, it gives only one crop from summer
flowering in April and May. High temperatures adversely affect the flowers
and fruits both.
Soil
It can be grown on wide range of soils ranging from sandy loam to clay loam.
It can tolerate salty conditions to a great extent.
 Propagation
Vegetatively propagated:
Sapota can be propagated though grafting and air layering.
Grafting
Khirnee’ (Manilkara hexandra (Roxb.) is most commonly used rootstcok. Others
rootstock tried are sapota seedlings, Mahua, Star apple etc., One year old seedlings
are used for grafting.
Approach grafting
Approach grafting (Inarching) is done during spring (March) on the khirnee
seedlings. Inarched plants are ready within six months of inarching.
softwood grafting
Softwood grafting is done in rainy season.3-4 month shoots are used for grafting.
Air layering
It is done during monsoons (July-August). Success in air layers can be improved by
applying 100 to 200ppm of Indole butyric acid
 Planting
• Sapota is generally planted at 10x10 m or 12x12 m distance depending on
the variety and soil type in a square system of planting.
• A closer spacing of 8x8,8x4 or 5x5 can be followed for high productivity . The
trees may be thinned after they starts overlapping.
• Sapota is planted in the field in July-August in the prepared pits.
• Pits of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m size are dug and fill up with top soil mixed with 10 Kg
of FYM, 1 Kg of neem cake .
• After planting stake the plants properly to avoid bending or damage to graft
joint during heavy winds
 Nutrition

Manures and fertilizers may be applied in September-October at 45 cm away from

the trunk.

Age of plant (years) Nutrient required (g/tree/year)

N P2O5 K2O
1-3 250 125 125
4-6 500 250 250
7-10 1000 500 500
11 and above 1000 500 750
 Irrigation

• Sapota is a hardy plant and can tolerate scarcity of soil moisture fairly well.
For good growth and high yield, plants may be irrigated at an interval of 7-
10 days in summer and 20-25 days in winter.
• Under drip irrigation, fully grown plants of 8-10 years needs 40 to 50litres of
water in summer months and the quantity may be reduced by 50%in other
season depending on climatic conditions.
 Intercropping
• In the early years of planting when sufficient vacant place is available. Some
intercrops can be grown.
• Legumes and short duration crops may be raised as intercrop during pre-
bearing stage. Raising of intercrop serve as additional income and enriches
the soil fertility by fixing the atmospheric nitrogen. Vegetables can be
successfully grown.
• Care should be taken that root system and scaffolds are not damaged during
ploughing.
• Papaya and guava may can be planted as a filler crop.
 Training and Pruning

• Sapota tree generally has well distributed branches and assumes uniform
shape.
• A strong trunk is necessary for a strong framework of the tree.
• Training of the Sapota plants is done by removing the lower branches on the
trunk up to 90 cm. The lowest scaffold should be selected at least 90cm above
the ground level.
• No pruning annual pruning is needed it bears on top of shoots in leaf axils.
 Floral biology
•Sapota flowering almost throughout the year under tropical conditions. There are two
or three main seasons of peak flowering from February to March and September to
October.
•Flowers are borne singly or in clusters in leaf axils near the tips of branches.
•Flowers are solitary, axillary, pedicellate, bractiolate small, bisexual, off-white, bell-
shaped, and about 10 mm in diameter. The heterostyly and protogyny were observed.
•Flower bud development complete within 34 to 36 days.
•Duration of flowering is 29 to 30 days. Highest number of flowers shoot (48.40) were
produced in August- September flowering season and the lowest number (19.70) were
found in March-April flowering .
• Anthesis takes place in early in the morning (05:00-06.00 am) which is followed by
the anther dehiscence (07:00-09:00 am). Stigma is receptive a day before anthesis and
remained receptive a day after anthesis .
• Sapota takes about 160-180 days from fruit set to maturity.
 Sapota flower

Protogynous ,gynecium matures

Open flower
before anthers
 Pollination and fruit set
• Sapota is observed to be highly selfcompatible, as the fruit set percentage is
substantially high (>25%) when flowers are pollinated with the pollens of same
plant.
• The flower bud development in sapota is very slow and the period taken from the
emergence of a flower bud to anthesis has been 32-40 days
• Cross pollination enhances the fruit set depending upon source of pollen .
• Pollination is carried by wind , Thrips sp. were identified as major flower visitors.
However, thrips were more abundant which was substantiated by their visit
frequency and during peak stigma receptivity, there were more than 4 thrips per
flower, whereas the number of beetle was relatively less (1.5).
• Larvae and adults of thrips feed largely on pollen grain; subsequent transportation
of pollens to stigma was more likely as thrips were highly mobile.
• Cross-pollination necessary for high fruit set. Open pollination resulted in 5% fruit
set highest percent fruit set 20 to 34%.
 Improving Fruit Set

• Fruit set can be improved by spraying GA2 @ l00ppm at full-

bloom and after fruit set. NAA spray @ 25-100 ppm at flowering
and repeated after 15 days resulted in better fruit set at Navsari.
 Fruit growth

• The fruit of sapota is small, 5 to 9 cm in diameter round to egg-shaped

appearance, 75 to 200 g in weight.
• Rough brown skin, soft, sweet, light brown to reddish-brown Pulp. Sometimes
gritty 3 to 12 flat, smooth black seeds.
• Sapota fruits exhibited a double sigmoid pattern of growth with two periods
of active growth and one period of lag phase.
• Time taken from fruit set to maturity varies four months and can be extended
to 10 months. Fruits matured during March-May exhibited better fruit quality.
Fruit weight and fruit shape are positively correlated with number of seeds
and its distribution around the placenta.
• Round shaped fruits have well distributed seeds and number of seeds
increases fruit weight in sapota.
 Harvesting & Yield
• Sapota grafts start yielding from third to fourth year of planting.
• Sapota is a climacteric fruit hence, should be harvested at full maturity. It takes
about 10 months to mature Sapota fruit.
• The mature fruits shed off the brown scaly scurf from skin. Mature fruits do not
show green tissue or latex underneath the brown skin of the epicarp.
• The harvested fruit are graded into large. Medium and small sizes. The fruits are
packed in wooden carts which are padded with paper cuttings, straw or banana
leaves.
• After ripping fruits become very soft and can but be kept for long. Ripe fruits can
be stored at 2-3°C with 85-90% RH for a month or so.
• A seven year old tree yields 700 fruits and a 10 year old tree yields 1000 to 1100
fruits per year. The fruits are available in two seasons I e from February to June
and September to October.
 DISEASES
Diseases:
Leaf spot (Phaeophleospora indica)
This main disease of sapota and small round spot develops on
leaves. This can be controlled by application of Diathane M-45 or
copper fungicide (3g/l)
Sooty mould
Sooty mould is a fungal disease that grows on plants and other
surfaces covered by honeydew, a sticky substance created by
certain insects. Sooty mould can be controlled by spraying starch
solution.
Flattened branches
This is caused by mycoplasma. The branched get flatten with
reduces leaf size. The removal of infected shoots should be
removed to control.
 Insect Pests
Pests:
Chikoo moth (Nephopteryx eugraphella )
The larvae of Chikoo moth feed on leaves, buds, fkowers and tender fruits
and makes a web of leaves. It can be controlled by application of 0.05 %
chlorpyriphos
Bud borer
Chiku Bud Borer(Anarsia achrasella) feeds by making holes into the petals
and ovary resulting in significant crop loss. Two sprays of Monocrotophos
@ 0.05% at 15 days interval can effectively control the pest.
Green scale (Coccus viridis)
The nymph are Pale lemon yellow while adults are green, flat oval soft
scale.Nymphs and adults suck the sap from leaves resulting yellowing of
leaves. To control prune and destroy the infested shoots at initial stage of
infestation and Spray monocrotophos (1ml/l)or phenthoate (1ml/l)
Seed borer( trymalitis margarias)
The seed borer attacks immature fruits and it is difficult to distinguish
between infested and uninfested fruits prior to the emergence of larvae.
Alternating the sprays of Deltamethrin at 1 ml/l and Bt at 1 ml/ at
fortnightly interval bring down the seed borer infestation
 Loranthus

• Loranthus is a genus of parasitic plants

that grow on the branches of woody trees.
• It ingests minerals and water from
host plant through sucking
roots called Haustoria. This results on
death of branches.
• It need to be along with Haustoria for
control
 Physiological disorders

• Misshaped fruits, shape of fruit is related with number of seeds and it again
depends on the proper pollination at anthesis. Presence of high temperature
or rainfall at the time of flowering causes oblongation of fruits.
• Fruits develop a depression or furrow towards calyx end. This occurs
immediately after heavy rainfall and is intensified by high frequency of
irrigation. Over irrigation should be avoided in such conditions.
• Development of corkiness in fruits, fruits exposed to intense sunlight do
not ripen properly and they later show corkiness during winter.
 Thanks
For further information, Pl contact:
prakaashtripathii2000@yahoo.co.in

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