Abstract
The phenological growth stages of various species of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants can be uniformly coded using the Biologische Bundesanstalt, Bundessortenamt, und Chemische Industrie (BBCH) scale. The aim of the present study was to determine the duration of different phenological stages and the temperature requirements of the sugar-apple, Annona squamosa, during two crop cycles in the semiarid region of Brazil. Phenological stages were divided into eight of ten possible principal stages: (0) bud development, (1) leaf development, (3) shoot/branch development, (5) inflorescence emergence, (6) flowering, (7) fruit development, (8) fruit maturity and (9) senescence and the beginning of dormancy. The phenological cycle of the sugar-apple from having closed leaf buds to the fruit ripening stage lasted 149 and 164 days with temperature requirements of 1684.5 and 1786.7 degree days (DD) for the first and second crop cycles, respectively. The results provided important information that will inform the correct timing for crop management practices.
Highlights
Genus Annona includes more than 50 species and interspecific hybrids, most of which originate from tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas
Annona squamosa L. is the best known of the Annonaceae species grown in Brazil, and the Brazilian semiarid region is responsible for Correspondence to: Silvia Nietsche E-mail: silvia.nietsche@gmail.com more than 90% of the sugar-apple production in the country
In the present study in the Brazilian semiarid region, A. squamosa was observed to present eight out of the ten principal growth stages described in the BBCH scale
Summary
Genus Annona includes more than 50 species and interspecific hybrids, most of which originate from tropical and subtropical regions of the Americas. (sugar-apple) is the best known of the Annonaceae species grown in Brazil, and the Brazilian semiarid region is responsible for. The sugar-apple is a short (4 to 6 m high) and highly branched tree (Kiill and Costa 2003) with deciduous leaves, approximately 5 to 15 cm long and 2 to 6 cm wide, with a bright green upper surface and bluish-green lower surface (Manica 1994). Flowers form on new branches, from which they hang singly or in groups of two to four (Araújo-Filho et al 1998). The fruits are syncarpous, rounded, ovoid, spherical or cordiform, 5 to 13 cm in diameter and formed by very prominent carpels in most cultivars and selections. The skin of the fruit is usually green but can be yellow or purple (Manica 2003)
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