The Tropical Fruit Forum

I have many white sapote seedlings for sale, as well as longan seedlings. These were planted last year, summer/fall, and survived our unusually harsh SoCal winter, some even had snow on them and have done just fine.

Local pickup in Redlands, CA area. $5 each.

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/2-shot-at-plant-nursery-in-fallbrook-san-diego-sheriffs-department/3165126/

Very sad. Atkin's Nursery in Fallbrook, CA

I have heard that in certain states there are significant property tax advantages to having your fruit tree orchard be under some sort agriculture or homestead designation. Has anyone looked into this in California? (Ag Exemption or something similar?)

Hi all,

I recently read this journal article:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7156197/
Kaas B, Hillis AE, Pantelyat A. Progressive supranuclear palsy and pawpaw. Neurol Clin Pract. 2020 Apr;10(2):e17-e18. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000704. PMID: 32309040; PMCID: PMC7156197.

"The patient died due to aspiration 5 years after symptom onset. Subsequently, his wife disclosed that he had habitually consumed pawpaw fruit from their family-owned nursery, starting 5 years prior to symptom onset and continuing until his death (10 years total). She estimated that he had consumed up to 13.6 kg of raw fruit annually over the five-year period prior to death."

That's about 30 lbs of fruit, which I imagine is not that much when spread out over 5 years, especially if you have a fruit forest.

"Annonacin is present in the fruit, leaves, and bark of plants belonging to the Annonaceae family, which includes Annona muricata (soursop) and Asimina triloba (pawpaw).4 Pawpaw is native to the eastern United States and southern Canada and is the only fruit-bearing annonaceous plant widely distributed in North America. A recent regional increase in pawpaw's popularity is concerning in light of studies demonstrating the neurotoxicity of annonacin as well as possible associations with the development of neurodegenerative disease. A 1999 case–control study in Guadeloupe described an association between regular consumption (at least monthly, for at least 2 years) of fruit and tea from annonaceous plants and diagnosis of an akinetic-rigid parkinsonian disorder resembling PSP, with the PSP-like patients more likely to have reported routine consumption of these plant products compared to patients with Parkinson's disease (odds ratio 5.98, 95% CI 1.05–34.22).5 This study also reported an unusual prevalence of atypical parkinsonism in this population: of 87 consecutive patients presenting with parkinsonism, only 25% presented as idiopathic Parkinson disease. A smaller 2004 study also described a high proportion of atypical parkinsonism in New Caledonia and noted a higher percentage of habitual Annonaceae consumers in the atypical parkinsonism group.6 This association has therefore been noted in 2 genetically distinct populations, making the possibility of a common environmental exposure more compelling. The authors report that the plant products consumed in these regions are derived from A. muricata, Annona squamosa, and Annona reticulata. Notably, annonacin represents 0.007% of pawpaw fruit pulp by weight, which is higher than other analyzed sources (soursop pulp contains only 0.002% annonacin).4"

This has probably been discussed in the past, but this is a relatively new publication, and is in regards to a disease (PSP, https://www.ninds.nih.gov/progressive-supranuclear-palsy-fact-sheet) which shares similarities to Parkinsons.

For those growing and/or consuming frequent amounts of annonaceous plants, are you concerned about the above, and other reports linking this particular group to various forms of degenerative neurological conditions?

I ask this as someone who finds Rollinia and Cherimoya delicious, and could easily eats pounds and pounds of the stuff.

I am looking for a fruit picker that is on a telescoping pole and easy to travel with on airline flights.

Any recommendations? Thank you! DIY is fine too.

I have Ice Cream Bean seedlings for sale (Inga edulis). These were grown from a very tasty ice cream bean fruit sample, and have been vigorously enjoying the hot SoCal temperatures. Potted, up to 10" in height. $10 each, or trade (particularly interested in sapote specimens or passion fruit), local pickup in Redlands, CA area.

I tried a Mamey sapote and loved it - then I heard there was a related variety, the Pouteria Viridis/Green Sapote that could survive in Southern California.
I was very interested in getting a Green Sapote after learning about this. Unfortunately, it seemed to be out of stock at nearly every nursery. Some nurserys even stated they didn't plan to carry it anymore (Papaya Nursery for example). Even Ong's and Exotica in San Diego stated they didn't have it. Almost all sellers mentioned it would only be on Mamey rootstock if they did get it.

Eventually, I stumbled upon someone selling a grafted Green Sapote in San Diego. They stated it was several years old, but were scant on other details. One photo they sent showed a tag from Champa's -- and per Champa's all their prior Green Sapotes were on Mamey rootstock. Not ideal for me, as I wanted a green on green to maximize survivability in Zone 9B, California, but the siren's call of the tree was too much to bear and I eventually purchased it
(Side note: The experience buying it was unpleasant, be cautious purchasing from a certain backyard nursery in San Diego near downtown, especially if they lock the gate behind you when you enter while carrying a large stick!)


The tree looked healthy, and actually had buds on it. The seller stated it often flowered but never had fruit set. I tried squeezing a few of the buds to see if it would help them set, something I had read here on the forums.


Shiny leaves, small but health in appearance to my eye.

I finally got it into the ground, with a south-facing wall to hopefully improve warmth over the winter, and after about a week I was very concerned it would not survive. The leaves were dying, and I attributed it likely to too much compost/nitrogen in the planting area or perhaps sunburn (most likely the former). The days were long and hot, temperatures > 100F consistently. Still, I held out faint hope.



About a week later, and the plant continued to have poor leaves -- but, I noticed new growth coming in on almost all of the branches ontop!


Another week went by, and now the old leaves look awful, but the new leaves coming in look great - shiny and vigorous.


To make things even better, I found what appears to be a tiny green sapote fruit, not a bud, that is getting bigger each day!

Questions:
Approximately how long will this little fruit take to grow to a ripe stage, assuming it survives? (I am optimistic, as it has held on for several weeks and is steadily increasing in size.)

Are green sapotes easily damaged by nitrogen burn? My White sapote loved a load of nitrogen heavy compost, but I figured out too late that this unrelated tree did not.

I will try to update this post with photos of the tree as it progresses, as well as its one, solitary, exciting (to me) fruit!

I am looking for green sapote seeds and/or seedlings.
I am located in Southern California.
Working on creating my own fruit forest and hope someone can help me find these!

Thank you!