From Julia Morton's book Fruits of Warm Climates
and the University of Florida




Sapodilla Varieties


In Florida, seedling selections of high quality have been named and vegetatively reproduced. The first of these was 'Russell' from Islamorada in the Florida Keys, named and propagated by R.H. Fitzpatrick. It is nearly round, up to 4 in (10 cm) in diameter and length, brown-scurfy with gray patches, and luscious, reddish flesh. It is not a dependable bearer.

The second, 'Prolific', a seedling grown at the Agricultural Research and Education Center, Homestead, and released in 1941, is round-conical, 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 in (6.25-9 cm) long and broad, with smooth, pinkish-tan flesh. The skin is lighter than that of the 'Russell' and tends to lose much of the scurf as it ripens. The tree bears early, consistently and heavily. Of later selection, 'Modello' is a good quality fruit but not a heavy producer; 'Seedless' yields poorly; 'Brown Sugar' is a good, regular, high yielder; handles and keeps well.

Some introduced cultivars being tested in Florida include: 'Boetzberg', 'Larsen', 'Morning Star', 'Jamaica 8', and 'Jamaica 10'. 'Tikal', a recent seedling selection, seems very promising. It is light-brown, elliptic to conical, much smaller than 'Prolific', but of excellent flavor and comes into season very early. Several cultivars not recommended because of low yield in southern Florida are 'Addley', 'Adelaide', 'Big Pine Key', 'Black', 'Jamaica No. 4', 'Jamaica No. 5', 'Martin' and 'Saunders'. 1

Sapodilla Cultivars for Florida 2

Cultivar name Country of origin Fruit shape and skin color Fruit size1 Pulp color and texture Quality CFF rating2 Yield3 Season
Alano United States (Hawaii) conical to round, skin light brown, smooth S to M, 115-250 g
(4-9 oz)
smooth to slightly granular very good to excellent U G Nov.-June
Betawi Indonesia conical ML, 140-315 g (5-11 oz) light amber - yellow, slightly granular very good, juicy U G late Dec.
Brown Sugar United States round to ovate, skin light brown, moderately scurfy S to M, 133-170 g (4.6-6.0 oz) brown, slightly granular very good M G to VG May-Sept.
Gonzalez Philippines round to oval, skin very light brown, slightly scurfy M,90-260 g (3.1-9.2 oz) light brown to brown, smooth very good to excellent U VG Nov.-April
Hasyá Mexico oval to slightly conical, skin light brown, moderately scurfy ML, 150-365 g (5-13 oz) brownish red excellent U G Nov.-June
Makok (dwarf) tree Thailand conical, skin light brown, slightly scurfy S, 30-140 g (1-5 oz) light brown to slightly greenish- red, smooth very good U VG May-Nov.
Modello United States elliptic to ovate, skin light brown, moderately scurfy M to ML, 227-340 g (8-12 oz) whitish to tan, smooth good L F Feb.-May
Molix Mexico oval M to M-L, 150-360 g (5-13 oz) brownish red, smooth very good to excellent U VG Feb.-April
Morena Mexico oval M to ML, 170-345 g (6-12 oz) brownish red, smooth very good to excellent U G to VG Feb.-April
Oxkutzcab (Ox) Mexico roundish L to very L, up to 800 g (1 lb, 12 oz) reddish brown very good U VG May-Sept.
Prolific United States round to conical, ovate, skin light brown, slightly scurfy M, 170-225 g (6.0-7.9 oz) light tan to reddish tan and smooth very good H VG May-Sept
Russell United States round to conical to ovate, skin brown with grayish-brown patches, scurfy L, 284--454 g (10-16 oz) pinkish tan, granular good, mildly fragrant H P May-Sept.
Tikal United States ellipsoid to conical, skin light brown, slightly scurfy S to ML 80-323 g (3-11 oz) light brown, smooth very good, fragrant L VG Main, Dec. - March; minor, May-Sept.
1, S=small; M=medium; ML=medium-large; L=large.

2, CFF, Caribbean fruit fly rating; L=low potential for infestation; M=moderate potential for infestation; H=high potential for infestation; U=unknown potential for infestation not known.

3, Yield rating; P, poor; F, fair; G, good; VG, very good.

A whole ripe and the half of a ripe Hasya Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota / Sapotaceae) from Fruit and Spice Park, Homestead, Florida.A half of a ripe Hasya sapodilla (Manilkara zapota / Sapotaceae) from Fruit and Spice Park,Homestead, Florida
Fig. 1
'Hasya' sapodilla
Fig. 2
'Hasya' sapodilla



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Bibliography

1 Fruits of Warm Climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, 1987.
Crane, Jonathan H., et al. "Sapodilla Growing in the Florida Home Landscape." Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension, HS-1, Original Pub. May 1973, Revised Apr. 1994, Nov. 2016, Nov. 2000, Oct. 2005, and Oct. 2008, Reviewed Dec. 2019, EDIS, edis.ifas.ufl.edu. Accessed 4 July 2017, 13 Apr. 2020.

Photographs

Fig. 1,2 Asit K. Ghosh Thaumaturgist. "A whole and half of a ripe Hasya sapodilla (Manilkara zapota/Sapotaceae) from Fruit and Spice Park, Homestead, Florida." Wikimedia Commons, 25 June 2005, (CC BY-SA 3.0), GFDL, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sapodilla#/media/File:Sapodilla_Hasya03_F&SPark_Asit.jpg. Accessed 28 Apr. 2016.

Published 28 Apr. 2016 LR. Last update 13 Apr. 2020 LR
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