Annona: is Annona Sakyamuni? What kind of fruit is Annona?

What kind of fruit is Annona and what is it? Do you want to know? Let's take a look.

Annona is a rare tropical fruit in Taiwan, which is very similar to Sakyamuni in plant taxonomy. it is also a fruit tree of the genus Annona, which is long conical and covered with soft thorns, which makes it difficult to associate with the image of Sakya. Annona is also one of the main economic fruit trees in Annona fruit trees, which is of great cultivation and utilization value, in order to increase farmers' understanding of Annona fruit trees. And to understand the multiple use value of its fruit, the Taitung District Agricultural improvement Farm of the Committee of Agriculture of the Executive Yuan (hereinafter referred to as Taitung Field) on December 5, this (107) year, the "emerging Fruit Tree with processing potential-Annona thorn Festival" was held at the turtledove sub-field, which attracted a total of 82 farmers and guests to attend.

Chen Hsin-yen, director of Taitung Field, points out that Taitung is the stronghold of Annona fruit trees, but it has an economic cultivation scale. at present, there are only two kinds of Sakya and pineapple Sakya, and their flavors are sweet, mainly fresh food, and lack of multiple uses. On the other hand, the fruit of Annona has low sweetness, sour flavor and strong aroma of tropical fruit. in addition to fresh food, it is very suitable for processing dried fruit, fruit juice or ice cream, which has a certain market potential and isolation. If you can join the ranks of Taitung Annona fruit tree family, I believe it can better highlight the local characteristics, but also help to enhance the overall industrial development.

Chen Xiaojun, an assistant researcher in Taitung Field, will introduce the growth habits, plant characters and processing utilization of Annona fruit trees. Annona originated in tropical America, like high temperature environment, Taitung climate is also very suitable for cultivation and growth. Its tree-shaped appearance is erect, the tree height can reach more than 5-9 meters, and the leaves are long oval, with a faint aroma. After planting, the seedlings can blossom in about 3-5 years. The flowers are the largest in Annona fruit trees, showing an inverted triangular cone, with the characteristics of opening all the year round. In addition to branches, dry flowers can also be produced in the trunk. The fruit production season has two seasons: winter and summer, the weight of single fruit varies from 1 to 3 kg, the pulp is white, and the content of soluble solids is between 10-15 oBrix (about 20-25 oBrix). Compared with Sakya and pineapple Sakya, Annona has a great advantage in processing, because the pulp will not produce bitter taste after high temperature treatment, and can retain the original aroma and flavor, so it can produce a wide range of products.

The cultivation threshold of Annona is not high, because of its strong drought tolerance, it can be planted in parks with good drainage, but there are still many problems to be overcome in order to achieve economic cultivation, such as Annona is not resistant to strong wind and low temperature. therefore, typhoons in summer and cold snap in winter are environmental limiting factors, coupled with the fact that the flowers themselves have the characteristics of female flowers ripening first, the natural fruit setting rate is low, and there may be a developmental stagnation period after fruit planting. It is difficult to predict its fruit growth period and harvest time, so Taitung calls on farmers to gradually increase the cultivation area after the cultivation techniques have been established and downstream pathways are in place.

At the end of the event, the farmers also went into the orchard to observe and taste the pulp and processed products in the field, to observe the plant morphology and growth of Annona, and to taste the special flavor of Annona, which was a bit like pineapple and passion fruit. The on-site discussion was quite heated, and the researchers also answered various questions in detail. Through this exhibition in Taitung, farmers can have a more comprehensive understanding of Annona and have an interest in cultivation. I also hope that in the near future, Annona will show its edge and open another door for the fruit industry of Annona in Taitung.