Big Eyes sugar apple with one flower producing one fruit

[elriba]

Hi,
I think this will be of interest to annona fans here.

I have a "Big Eyes" sugar apple I planted from seed.  I have it in a 10gal pot, and it is about 2 years old.  This year it produced its first fully developed flower, a single flower in the whole tree.  This was the only flower in the tree, the only annona flower in my backyard, and I am positive no one near me has any kind of annonas.   Last year it produced a tiny flower, but it didn't really develop into a "full" flower.

The thing is that this morning there was a small growing fruit were the flower was!  According to the Taiwanese farmer from whom I purchased the fruit a couple of years ago, this "Big Eyes" variety doesn't need hand pollination, but that I NEVER expected that one single flower would germinate itself.  What in the world!

Maybe it is just a fluke accident, but I thought it was very interesting.   Let´s see if it produces more flowers this year if they fruit.....

Edgard

[achetadomestica]

Is it big enough to hold fruit?
If there is only one flower on the tree then there has to be a brief period
when the flower is both sexes?
In my yard small beetles are doing the pollinating. I have never seen a bee
pollinate annonas. If the tree holds the fruit it will be interesting to see if the fruit
is misshapen or partially developed?

Please sell me some seeds

[elriba]

Hi Mike,
I think the tree is big enough.  Lets see if it holds.   The fruit is about the size of a marble right now.

[JoeP450]

Hey Elriba,

Interesting point you bring up, but aside from that I’m really rooting for you that your fruit holds to maturity. I’m super curious if the “big eyes” come true to type from seed and if you can please post a picture of the ripe fruit in time.

Thanks,

Joe

[Oolie]

In annona self fertility is a matter of humidity, it's been very humid lately so the pistil hasn't dried before pollen reached dehiscence therefore self pollination happens.

[Filozophr]

In annona self fertility is a matter of humidity, it's been very humid lately so the pistil hasn't dried before pollen reached dehiscence therefore self pollination happens.

Interesting, I always wondered why one flower had to die for another to be pollinated, it seems that’s not true, and only used to speed up the process when hand pollinating

[cbss_daviefl]

Promoting genetic diversity would be a reason. Sugarapple is fairly well stabilized so it may allow same flower pollination.  There are other possibilities. We still do not kniw if this fruit will reach maturity.