White Sapote as a fruit tree in Melbourne?
Yes you can grow White Sapote in Melbourne. This relatively unknown (to Melbournians) fruit is delicious and a potential as a market fruit. Click the links below for;
Casimiroa edulis
as a food
Casimiroa
edulis is primarily eaten fresh either on its own or
added fresh to other foods as due to its properties, White Sapote has proved
unsuitable to canning or freezing (Morton 1987). Casimiroa edulis is a sweet fruit containing 27% sugars and has been
compared to custard, peach or banana in flavour (University of Connecticut
2017). It is often combined with milk to produce ice-creams or milkshakes and
is rich in vitamin A and C (University of Connecticut 2017). Apparently it can
be made into a spread similar to marmalade (Morton 1987).
Potential as a commercial crop in Australia
Due to its high sugar content (University of
Connecticut 2017) I think white sapote has potential as market sold fruit in
Australia as most people enjoy sweet fruit. Unfortunately due to its inability
to endure chilling long term storage of White Sapote fruit is problematic with
a refrigerated life of only two weeks (Morton 1987). Ideally the fruit needs to
be picked serveral weeks before ripe with a short piece of stem still attached
(similar to a peach) to extend shelf life (California Rare Fruit Growers 2017).
Heavy frost and low temperatures will damage White Sapote plants and fruit
which is why it may only currently be grown commercially in northern New South
Wales.
References
California Rare Fruit Growers (2017). White Sapote. Accessed 30/10/2017 https://www.crfg.org/pubs/ff/whitesapote.html
Morton, J.F. (1987), Fruits of warm climates, Media
Incorporated, Greensboro, N.C, USA.
University of Connecticut (2017), Casimiroa edulis Llave. Accessed
30/10/2017. http://florawww.eeb.uconn.edu/199900052.html
