Physical characterization of custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) at different stages of fruit ripening

Custard apple (Annona squamosa L.) is a commercially important fruit crop grown in homesteads of Kerala, which is mostly consumed for its nutritional value. The present investigation aimed to evaluate the genetic variability of custard apple in homesteads of Kerala with respect to quality at different fruit ripening stages viz., optimum mature, ripe and at the end of shelf life and compared with the cultivated variety of Annona squamosa L. cv. Balanagar. Fruit characters viz., fruit weight, length, diameter, seed weight, fruit firmness, and pulp percentage were recorded higher in Balanagar fruits at all the stages of ripening. However, the number of seeds, fruit rind thickness and fruit colour, pulp colour and pulp texture of fruits of local genotype and Balanagar did not show any variation in all fruit ripening stages. The fruits of local custard apple fruits recorded higher peel percentage and shelf life than Balanagar fruits. The locally collected genotype from Kerala homesteads had promising fruit physical characteristics and was comparable to the commercial variety Balanagar. Hence local genotype selected could be used for the varietal improvement studies for developing promising custard apple variety suitable for humid tropical conditions of Kerala.