The Atemoya, also known as the custard apple, is generally referred to as pineapple释迦 or honey释迦, and it is a perennial fruit tree in the Annonaceae family. The Atemoya is a hybrid variety developed in 1908 in Florida, USA, with parents being the cold-stone soursop native to the Andes mountains in South America, specifically Peru and Ecuador, and the soursop native to tropical America, distributed in tropical and subtropical regions.
Pineapple释迦, although it can naturally produce summer fruit between July, the fruit is prone to radiating cracks at the stem during the soft-ripening stage. Due to the high content of soluble solids, reaching 22° Brix, and high sugar levels, the cracks are susceptible to mold, diminishing its commercial and edible value. With the implementation of crop timing adjustment techniques, winter fruit produced from December to the following March and April is free from cracking. Planting density is approximately 300 trees per hectare, with rows and spacing of 6 meters by 5 meters. Trees over five years old can produce between 15 to 25 kilograms of winter fruit per tree, resulting in a yield of approximately 4,500 to 7,500 kilograms per hectare.
Due to its excellent quality, flavor, and high price, the pineapple sapodilla fruit stands out in the market from the soursop (sugarcane sapodilla) and is a fruit tree with great development potential. Currently, the main production area is in the Taitung region, but due to its wide climate adaptability, it can also be cultivated in the northeastern, central, and southern parts of the province. There are not many new plantations of pineapple sapodilla in the Taitung region; most farmers graft pineapple sapodillas onto soursop trees to harvest soursop summer fruits in the summer and pineapple sapodilla winter fruits in the winter, or to gradually replace soursop trees with pineapple sapodilla orchards. In terms of distribution, currently, due to the low supply and high price, it is a sought-after product with a trend of supply not meeting demand.
