Pouteria sapota, the mamey sapote, is a species of tree native to Mexico and Central America. The tree is also cultivated in the Caribbean. Its fruit is eaten in many Latin American countries. The fruit is made into foods such as milkshakes and ice cream.
Some of its names in Latin American countries, such as mamey colorado (Cuba), zapote colorado (Costa Rica) and zapote rojo (South America), refer to the reddish colour of its flesh to distinguish it from the unrelated but similar-looking Mammea americana, whose fruit is usually called "yellow mamey" (Spanish: mamey amarillo).[citation needed]
Description
Mamey sapote is a large and highly ornamentalevergreen tree that can reach a height of 15 to 45m (49 to 148ft) at maturity.[5]
The fruit, technically a berry,[6] is about 10 to 25cm (4 to 10in) long and 8 to 12cm (3 to 4.5in) wide and has flesh ranging in color from pink to orange to red. The brown skin has a texture somewhat between sandpaper and the fuzz on a peach.[7] The fruit's texture is creamy and soft, and the flavor is a mix of sweet potato, pumpkin, honey, prune, peach, apricot, cantaloupe, cherry, and almond.[8][9][10] A mamey sapote is ripe when the flesh is vibrant salmon in color when a fleck of the skin is removed.[11] The flesh should give slightly, as with an overripe avocado. The leaves are pointed at both ends, 4 to 12 inches in length, and grow in clusters at the ends of branches.[12]
The native range probably extends from the southern Mexican states of Veracruz, Tabasco, and Chiapas through Nicaragua, Belize, and northern Honduras.[17] This is uncertain, however, because the tree was already widely cultivated in the tropical Americas prior to European colonization.[18] Today, it is cultivated in most Mexican states, many Caribbean islands, and tropical continental America from Florida to Brazil. The first record of cultivation in south Florida dates to the 1880s.[19] It has also been introduced to the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam.[20]
Cultivation
It prefers smooth sandy, deep, clay and fertile soils, with pH of 5.5 to 6.5. The species does not tolerate low temperatures, prolonged periods of drought, or soils with bad drainage or where the water table is very high.[18]
It is mainly propagated by grafting, which ensures the new plant has the same characteristics as the parent, especially its fruit, as it does not grow true to seed. It is also considerably faster than growing trees by seed, producing fruit in 3–5 years; trees grown from seed require 7 years of growth before fruiting.[21] Seeds lose viability within a month of harvest, so should be sown immediately.[18]
Pouteria sapota trees are quite productive fruiters. A typical mature tree may produce 200-500 fruits per year, while vigorous established trees may produce more than twice this amount.[19] The 2017 production average for Mexican growers was 12.4 tons/hectare.[22]
In Florida, the fruit is harvested from May to July with some cultivars available all year.[23][24]
Pests and diseases
Pouteria sapota is not often troubled by significant insect damage. The Cuban May beetle (Phyllophaga bruneri) and the sugarcane rootstalk borer (Diaprepes abbreviatus), along with various species of scale and spider mites are known to attack the plant, but rarely is the infestation significant.[18]
Oviposition by fruit flies onto the fruit can cause damage to the pulp. The most important species in this respect is Anastrepha serpentine, known as the sapote fly, specializing in Sapotaceae plants.
↑ Boning, Charles R. (2006). Florida's Best Fruiting Plants: Native and Exotic Trees, Shrubs, and Vines. Sarasota, Florida: Pineapple Press, Inc. p.139. ISBN978-1561643721.
↑ Ricker. 2001. Manejo y evaluación económica de una especie arbórea de la selva tropical: El Mamey (Pouteria sapota). En: B. Rendón Aguilar, S. Rebollar Domínguez, J. Caballero Nieto y M. A. Martínez Alfaro (eds). Plantas, Cultura y Sociedad. Estudio sobre la relación entre seres humanos y plantas en los albores del siglo XXI. Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana. México. pp. 287-307.
1 2 3 4 Cordero J. y Boshier D.H. 2003. Árboles de Centroamérica un Manual para extensionistas. Oxford Forestry Institute (OFI). Centro Agronómico, Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE). Pp. 1079.
↑ Oyen, L. P. A. 1991. Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore & Stearn. Páginas 259-262 en E. W. M. Verheij y R. E. Coronel, eds., Plant Resources of South-East Asia 2: Edible Fruits and Nuts, Pudoc-DLO, Wageningen, Países Bajos.
↑ Murillo E, McLean R, Britton G, Agócs A, Nagy V, Deli J (2011). "Sapotexanthin, an A-provitamin carotenoid from red mamey (Pouteria sapota)". J Nat Prod. 74 (2): 283–5. doi:10.1021/np1006982. PMID21214217.
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