844 



.Mr* 



Annona cherimola x squamosa. (Artnoftaceae) . 39808-816. 

 Cuttings of nine varieties of the atemoya, a new hybrid 

 between the cherimoya and the sugarapple, from Lamao , Bataan, 

 P. I. Presented by Mr. P. J. Wester, Horticulturist, Lamao 

 Experiment Station. "In 1908, at the subtropical labor- 

 atory, Miami, Fla. , the writer successfully hybridized the 

 cherimoya and the sugarapple, the sugarapple and the 

 c ustardapple , the cherimoya and the mamon, and the mamon 

 and the sugarapple. Several hundred seedlings resulted 

 from this work, part of which were planted out in 1910, 

 the hybrids between the cherimoya and the sugarapple show- 

 ing remarkable vigor and thriftiness. In 1911 hybrid 

 seeds of the same combination from a cross made in 1910 

 were brought to the Philippines and the seeds sown in 

 March of the same year. These hybrids exhibited the same 

 remarkable vigor and some attained a height of 2.3 meters 

 in one year and bloomed when they were 16 months old. No 

 fruits resulted, however. This year, (1913) in the course 

 of the reorganization work at Lamao, where the plants are 

 growing, it became necessary to transplant the hybrids, 

 and their fruiting is on that account unfortunately delay- 

 ed for another year." (Wester, Philippine Agric. Review, 

 July 1913.) The further history of these hybrids is told 

 in the Review for February 1914, "The blossoming season of 

 the cherimoya is somewhat in advance of that of the cus- 

 tardapple, but owing perhaps in part to the shock and re- 

 tardation due to the transplanting, a few flowers appeared 

 in June on one of the transplanted hybrids. One of these 

 was pollinated with pollen from the custardapple (A. retic- 

 ulata L.) with the result that it set, and a fruit devel- 

 oped and ripened October 8, 1913. The following is a de- 

 scription of the fruit: size small, weight 280 grams; 

 length 7.7 centimeters, equatorial diameter 7.6 centi- 

 meters; cordiform in shape, with prominent carpels and 

 distinct areoles; exterior yellowish green, almost glab- 

 rous; skin very thick and tough; flesh white, tender and 

 melting, with a slight trace of fiber, juicy, subacid, 

 rich and aromatic; flavor excellent, very similar to a 

 good cherimoya with a dash of the delicate sweetness of 

 the sugarapple; seeds 4 to 7, similar in shape to cheri- 

 moya seed but darker colored. The fruit is rather small 

 but regular and well shaped, about the size of a sugarap- 

 ple, which was to be expected considering that the father 

 parent, the cherimoya, was also undersized. With the em- 

 ployment of large-fruited cherimoyas for the breeding work 

 we may also anticipate a progeny with larger fruits. The 

 atemoya plants, of which there are 23 that have not yet 

 fruited, are very similar in appearance to the cherimoya, 

 and the fruit is also practically identical with the 

 prominent-carpelled cherimoyas. Superior to the sugarap- 



