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Sapodilla (Manilkara zapota) is a very popular fruit in Southeast Asia. This region is a major producer and consumer of this fruit. Sapodilla preferred mainly because it tastes sweet and soft flesh. This plant is thought to originate from tropical America-such as Guatemala, Mexico, and the West Indies-and in Java, this plant can be found in the lowlands. The Spanish colonizers brought from Mexico to the Philippines, and the possibility of it spreading to Southeast Asia.
Sapodilla has now grown in many tropical regions of the world. Brown manila germplasm collections are in Los Banos (Philippines), Queensland (Australia), India, Cuba, Brazil, Costa Rica, Florida and Hawaii (USA) and several other countries.
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| Sapodilla |
Most sapodilla fruit eaten fresh as a table fruit. However, sapodilla can also be processed into sherbet, mixed into ice cream, or used as jam. Sapodilla fruit juice can be concentrated into syrup, or fermented into wine or vinegar. The sap can be used as glue or varnish.
Characteristic of the three:
Large and shady tree, can grow up to 30-40 m tall, low-branched, rough-skinned trunk blackish gray to dark brown. All passages containing latex, the milky white sap thick.
Single leaf, is having an intermittent, often accumulate at the tip of twigs, leaves flat brimmed, slightly hairy, dark green, shiny, round-egg shape oblong to somewhat lanceolate, 1.5 to 7 x 3.5 to 15 cm, the base and the tip wedge shape, stemmed from 1 to 3.5 cm, the main veins prominent on the lower side.
Single flowers in axillary panicles located near the end of the twigs, stalks 1-2 cm, often hanging, flower diameter s, / d 1.5 cm, brownish hairy side outside. The petals are usually arranged in two circles; crowns bell shape, white, share up to half the length of the tube.
Sapodilla can flower and fruit throughout the year, but in general there are one or two peak fruiting season. In Thailand, the peak season is between September and December, while in the Philippines between December-February. Sapodilla fruit widely grown in lowland areas, although it grew well up to a height of about 2500 m above sea level. Can grow at an altitude of 300 m above sea level, sapodilla trees resistant to drought, salinity is somewhat higher, and the harsh winds. The most suitable soil is a sandy loam soil that is fertile and well-drained.
The Fruit:
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| Manilkara zapota |
Short-stemmed bunni fruit, round, oval or oblong, 3-6 x 3-8 cm, reddish to yellowish brown on the outside with coarse brown scales are easy to peel, often with the rest of the dried stigma stalk ends. Thin-skinned, with tender flesh and sometimes granular, reddish brown to yellowish, sweet and contains lots of juice. Seed can be up to 12 points, but most are less than 6, flat oval, glossy black or brownish, long about 2 cm, white pieces of wax beans.
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz): Energy 347 kJ (83 kcal), Carbohydrates 19.96 g, Dietary fiber5.3 g, Fat 1.1 g, Protein 0.44 g, Riboflavin (vit. B2) 0.02 mg (2%), Niacin (vit. B3) 0.2 mg (1%), Pantothenic acid (B5) 0.252 mg (5%), Vitamin B6 0.037 mg (3%), Folate (vit. B9) 14 μg (4%), Vitamin C 4.7 mg (18%), Calcium 21 mg (2%), Iron 0.8 mg (6%), Magnesium 12 mg (3%), Phosphorus 12 mg (2%), Potassium 193 mg (4%), Sodium 12 mg (1%), Zinc 0.1 mg (1%).
Source : USDA Database.
Economic facts:
Particularly in Southeast Asia, the fruit is very popular. However, so far there has not been enough data to determine the number of sapodilla fruit production both globally and regionally. This delicious fruit valuable, although not yet be called expensive on the market of Southeast Asia.
In Southeast Asia, this fruit cultivation spread evenly, especially in the Philippines and Indonesia, but there has been no cultivation on an industrial scale.
Kingdom : Plantae
(unranked) : Angiosperms
(unranked) : Eudicots
(unranked) : Asterids
Order : Ericales
Family : Sapotaceae
Genus : Manilkara
