Farming Guide for Sapota Plantation
Botanical Name :- Achras zapota,
Family :- Sapotaceae
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In
India it is cultivated for fruits which are liked all over the
country. The fruit is a fleshy berry, variable in shape, size and
weight (75-150g). The skin is thin, rusty brown somewhat scurfy looking
like Irish potato, and the pulp soft, melting, crumbling with a sandy
or granular texture with 1-5 hard, black seeds. The fruit is a good
source of digestible sugar (12-18%) and an appreciable source of
protein, fat fibre ad minerals, Calcium and Iron. It has become a very
popular fruit crop in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu, Andhra
Pradesh and Kerala.
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Varieties
Kalipatti
State : Maharashtra, Gujarat & North Karnataka.
Popular table purpose variety, leaves broad, thick and green in colour, fruits oblong/round, borne
in single, fruit quality high with soft sweet pulp, main picking season winter. Fully grown tree yields
350-400 fruits/tree.
Cricket Ball
State : Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh.
It is a table purpose variety. Fruits large sized, round, sweet with granular pulp.
Co.1
State : Tamil Nadu
Hybrid between Cricket Ball x Oval suitable as table purpose. Bearing after 4 years of planting,
fruits large, oblong, sweet, flesh reddish brown, weight 125 g, TSS 18%.
Co.2
State : Tamil Nadu
Selection from 'Baramasi' suitable for table purpose.
Tree medium in height, fruit oblong-round, medium sized, flesh soft
juicy, sweet, gritty, light brown in colour with pleasant aroma, TSS
23%,
average wt. of fruit 125-150g.
PKM. 1
State : Tamil Nadu
Selection from Guthi siutable for table purose, profuse bearing, fruits medium sized, ellipticaloblong
with thin skin, rich in sugars, TSS 23%, average fruit wt. 80g.
Pilipatti
State : Maharashtra, Gujarat
Suitable for high density plantation, fruits oval with rough surface, pulp gritty, medium sweet,
average fruit wt. 400-450g.
Pala
State : Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
Popular & high yielding cultivar, fruits oval or egg shaped, thin skin, borne in clusters with apex
broadly pointed and pulp very sweet with good flavour.
Guthi
State : Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
Tree medium in height conical in shape. Fruit elliptical, small, brown, Pulp less juicy, soft, gritty,
brown in colour, with slight aroma.
Bangalore
State : Andhra Pradesh
Large sized oval fruits with about nine ridges running from the base to the apex, apex round, pulp
golden coloured, medium sweet.
Kirtibarathi
State : Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu
It is cultivated for table as well as for processing purpose. Very small egg shaped fruit with four to
six ridges on the rind, skin is rough, medium thick with buff colour, pulp very sweet when fully ripe.
Ideal for transporting to distant markets.
CO.3
State : Tamil Nadu
Hybrid between 'Cricket Ball' and 'Vavivalasa'. Trees are of intermediate stature. Bearing
commences from the fourth year of planting. Fruits are dull brown, oblong, sweet, average annual
yield of 157 kg fruits/tree
Spacing
The land should be thoroughly ploughed at 30-45cm depth and levelled. Normally planting is done at a
distance of 10mx10m. As the growth of sapota plant is slow it takes a longer period to occupy the
allotted space. Therefore, a spacing of 6mx6m is maintained till the canopies meet. Subsequently
alternate trees are removed to reduce the plant population.
Pit Digging
Pits of 90cm3 are opened during the summer and exposed to the sun for a period of 2-3 weeks. While
opening the pits, the topsoil and subsoil are to be heaped separately. Each pit is filled with topsoil first
followed by subsoil mixed with well-decomposed FYM, 1kg Superphosphate and 500g Sulphate of
potash. Lindane powder @100g/pit is added to control termites.
Method of Planting
At the time of planting hole just sufficient to accommodate the rootball of the grafted plant should be
dug in the centre of the pit. The grafts are planted in the hole in such a way that the graft union remains
just above the soil surface. The grafts are staked immediately after planting to protect from strong
winds. The young graft is protected from heat by erecting temporary shade covered with grass or
plastic sheets. The polythene strip used for securing the graft joint should be removed a month after
planting so as to reduce morality of the graft. The new sprouts emerging on the rootstock below the
graft joint should also be removed immediately.
Propagation
Air-layering
Air layering is carried out in the month of June. In this method a 1-2 year old, healthy, vigorous, mature
shoot of 45-60 cm in length and pencil thickness is selected. A circular strip of bark about 3 cm wide just
below a bud is completely removed from the selected shoot. Rooting hormones like IBA & NAA 50mg
each in Lanoline paste are applied over this portion. Moist sphagnum moss is packed around this
portion and tied with polyethylene sheet to prevent the loss of moisture. Application of such hormones
promotes early rooting. Light brown roots are visible through the polythene wrap within 4 months. The
rooted shoot is slowly detached by giving 2-3 successive cuts over a period of week before finally
detaching from the parent plant. These are planted in pots and kept in nursery under shade. Top of the
shoot is cut back to maintain a proper ratio of leaves: roots.
Sapota plants prepared from air-layering are susceptible to damage by strong winds and cannot
withstand drought, as their root system does not penetrate very deep into the soil.
Approach Grafting
In this method 2-3 year old 'Khirni' or 'Rayan' plants raised in polythene bags are used as rootstocks
due to their strong root system. These seedlings should be atleast 45-60cm in height and 1 cm in
diameter at the time of grafting.
Approach grafting should be preferably done in the beginning of rainy season or during February-
March. However grafting during February-March is more economical as the grafts will have to be
maintained in nursery for a shorter period of time. The success rate of the grafts is also high as
compared to those obtained in rainy season.
The mother plants
selected for approach grafting should be vigorous true-to-type and
between 10-15
years old. The lower most branches are usually bent and
tied to a peg near the ground. 1-11/ year old 2
branch (scion) of pencil thickness is selected for
grafting. The seedling of 'Khirni' (rootstock) is brought
closer to the branch near the ground. The cambium layers
of one side of this plant at 10-15cm from the
base of the plant is exposed by taking a 5-6cm long and
0.5cm wide cut with a sharp knife. Similar cut is
taken on the selected branch of the mother plant. The
exposed portion of bot the plants are brought
together and secured firmly with polythene strip. Care
should be taken to avoid gap between the joints.
The union of the scion and the stock takes place in about 2-21/ months. However, the scion should not 2
be separated for atleast 3-4 months. During this period the 'Khirni' plant should be watered every day
for the first 15 days and thereafter, at an interval of 3 days till the graft is separated from the mother
plant. The rooted graft is slowly detached by giving 2-3 successive cuts 2cm below the union over a
period of month before finally detaching from the parent plant. The grafts are maintained in a nursery
under shade for few days.
Soft-Wood Grafting
The technique of soft-wood grafting is similar to that of cleft or wedge grafting. The scion should be a
terminal non-flowering shoot of 3-4 months maturity with the same
thickness as the rootstock. Rootstock of 'Ryan' is mostly used for
soft-wood grafting. The selected scion should be defoliated while
on the mother plant at least 7 days before grafting, keeping a part of
petiole intact on the selected shoot. Defoliation prior to grafting
helps in swelling of dormant bud of the scion resulting in greater
success. In this method, a wedge shaped cut is made on lower part
of the scion stick. Similarly 4-6cm long cut is made in the middle
portion on the rootstock. The scion stick is then inserted in the cleft
of the rootstock and tied with polythene strip. Vigorous sprouting of the scion indicates the successful
union of the graft joint. The grafts are further maintained in the shade for sometime before transferring
them in the field.
Soil
It can be grown in a variety of soils but deep alluvium, sandy loam, and well-drained medium black soils
with pH 6.0-8.0 are ideal for its cultivation. However, shallow clay soils underlaid with hard pan or high
calcium contents are unsuitable for sapota cultivation.
Climate
It is a tropical fruit, which likes warm and humid (>70% RH) climate. It grows well up to an altitude of 1,
000m however, coastal climate is ideal for sapota cultivation. Temperature range of 10-38°C and
annual rainfall between 1250-2500 mm is suitable for sapota cultivation where it flowers and fruits
throughout the year. Temperatures exceeding 43°C leads to flower drop.
Harvesting
The fruiting starts from third year after planting but the economic yield can be obtained from seventh
year onwards. Being climateric fruit, it improves in quality after harvesting but pre-mature harvesting
leads to poor quality. On the other hand, fruits harvested late soften quickly resulting in spoilage during
handling and transport.
At maturity, the brown scurf on the fruit surface is replaced by yellowish corky brown colour. The
absence of green tissues and latex also indicates maturity. The fruits are picked by hand or harvested
with special harvester which has a round ring with a net bag fixed on a long pole.
Yield
In general a fully mature tree of 10 to 15 years of age yields 1000-3000 fruits/tree depending on the
variety and management practices.
Intercultural Operations
Weed Control
Weeds should be regularly removed from the basin. In young plantations pre-emergence application
of Bromacil 2kg a.i./ha or Diuron 2kg a.i./ha has been found effective in controlling the weed population
for 10-12 months.
Intercropping
Intercropping in widely spaced plantations is economical. Fruits crops like banana, papaya, pineapple;
vegetables like French bean, tomato, brinjal, cabbage, cauliflower; cucurbits and flowers like lily can
be grown successfully depending upon the climate and water resources.
Pruning
Pruning is normally done during winter to give shape and reduce the overcrowding of branches.
Pruning is important as the flowers and fruits are borne on those branches, which receive maximum air
sunlight.
Irrigation
Basin method of irrigation was found beneficial. The size of the basin is gradually increased based on
the spread of the canopy. The plants need irrigation at 6-7 days interval in summer and 8-10 days in
winter for proper establishment.
Use of drip irrigation saves 40% water and increases the yield. The drip system should be laid out with
two drippers spaced at 50 cm from the tree during the initial 2 years and subsequently 2 more drippers
are added. The dripper discharge rate should be of 4 litres/hour. The rate of application of water
depends upon the climate and the soil type prevailing in the area. By keeping the water tank at a higher
elevation the drip system can also operate in case of electricity failure.
Manuring & Fertilization
The nutrient requirement of sapota is high, as it is an
evergreen tree in continuous state of growth
and fruiting. The fertilizer requirement of sapota varies
from the age of the tree and soil nutrient
status. The recommended fertilizer schedule is as follows
-Under rainfed conditions, nutrient application should be done on the
onset of monsoon. However,
under irrigated conditions it should be applied in two
splits. Total quantity of organic manure and
half the dose of chemical fertilisers should be applied at the beginning of monsoon and remaining
half in post-monsoon period (September-October). Since most of the active roots are distributed
within the depth of 30cm, nutrients should be applied under tree canopy and mixed thoroughly in
the soil.
Packaging
For local markets the graded fruits are packed in bamboo baskets containing straw as padding
material. This helps in reducing the bruising and promotes even ripening of fruit. For distant
markets fruits are packed in cardboard boxes. Corrugated trays are equally effective as packaging
material while transporting the fruits. Use of such trays is cost effective due to its reusability.