Cultivation

Propagation

The chicozapote is a relatively difficult plant to propagate. Germination of seeds is reported to be difficult and slow (Farooqi et al. 1971), which I have confirmed in the laboratory. Since the different cultivars will not grow true from seeds, asexual methods of propagation are necessary to maintain good fruit quality (Popenoe 1924, Chadha 1992, Kute and Shete 1995). Air layering is one of the most common methods of production (Uthaiah et al. 1977,Chadha 1992, Kute and Shete 1995), but it can lead to high mortality and shallow root systems (Chadha 1992). Air layering also is a very slow method of production, since growth is not initiated until 6 weeks of hormone treatments with IBA and NAA (Sulladmath and Kololgi 1969). The most successful and efficient method of propagation is the veneer graft (Hussain and Bukhari 1976, Hussain and Bukhari 1977, Sandhu 1992). Other methods of propagation that are sometimes used include side-inarching (Hussain and Bukhari 1976, Morton 1987), approach grafting (Morton 1987, Sandhu 1973) and cuttings (Ramsundar and Abdul-Khadar 1986). The best rootstock to use with any of these methods is Manilkara hexandra (Chadha 1992, Hussain and Bukhari 1976, Sandhu 1973, Sandhu 1992), a species of Manilkara that is native to India. With asexual propagation, fruit set will occur after 3-4 years, as opposed to 7-8 years when propagating from seed (Madhava-Rao et al. 1975).

Although the chicozapote is drought-tolerant (Bhuva et al. 1990a, Morton 1987, Pennington 1990), it does need periodic watering if rainfall is less than 125 cm/yr. (Chadha 1992). Young trees require regular watering, regardless of rainfall (Kute and Shete 1995, Tankard 1990). Irrigation regimens need to be tailored to the region of cultivation, however, since over-watering can cause cracked and misshapen fruit (Bhuva et al. 1990b, Chadha 1992). The tree is also salt-tolerant, although watering with brackish water can prematurely induce fruit formation (Morton 1987). The use of fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium) can increase fruit output (Bafna et al. 1983, Durrani et al. 1982), and recommendations of fertilizers for specific regions and soil types are provided by Bhuva et al. (1990b), Durrani et al. (1982) and Tankard (1990). Chicozapote trees require little pruning, and can be inter-cropped with papaya, pomegranate and vegetables when the trees are younger than bearing age (Kute and Shete 1995).