Conclusion

The chicozapote has the potential to be a very important crop in tropical areas of the world. As reviewed by this chapter, much agricultural research has been conducted on this crop in India. In order to increase the utility of this crop, however, more research needs to be completed in marginal habitats. In the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico, morphologically distinct populations of chicozapote occur both in forests and in periodically inundated swamps. Recent work by Heaton (this thesis, Chapter 2), has revealed genetic variation between these different populations. Potentially, the swamp form of the tree could be useful as an agricultural plant in swampy areas, which are not suited for growing traditional agricultural crops such as corn, beans and squash. Experiments need to be conducted to see if this plant is in fact a viable crop in these areas. The chicozapote also needs to be added to tropical germplasm banks, in order to preserve and catalog the extreme diversity found in different populations of this plant.

The chicozapote could easily enter the U.S. market if more people were introduced to the fruit. Although climatic conditions in the United States do not permit the growth of the tree outside of southern Florida, several areas in Mexico and Central America could be used as sources of this fruit.