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MYRCIARIA SPP. - Jaboticaba |
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CULTURE |
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Location: Jaboticaba trees are will
take full sun or some shade and are small enough fit into many
parts of the garden landscape. They are fairly wind tolerant but
do not like salty sea air. Small, young trees do best with some
protection.
Soil: Jaboticabas grow and fruit best in rich deep soil with a
pH of 5.5 to 6.5. Although it is not well adapted to alkaline
soils, it may be grown successfully by mulching and applying necessary
nutrient sprays containing iron. The tree is not tolerant of salty
or poorly drained soil. It has grown and borne well on sand in
Central Florida.
Irrigation: Water should be supplied
as needed to maintain good soil moisture and prevent wilting,
but constant flooding is undesirable. As the root system is somewhat
shallow, irrigation is usually required when the upper inch or
two of soil become dry.
Fertilization: For young plants half
ratio fertilizer at monthly intervals will speed the plant's very
slow growth rate. Any well-balanced fertilizer applied three times
per year will keep the plant healthy. Because of its shallow root
system, it is suggested that a series of small holes be dug and
filled with organic material around the plant's base. The organic
material can contain a balanced fertilizer which will be released
during irrigation.
Pruning: Pruning of jaboticabas is
not usually needed, but when pruned as a hedge, the fruit is not
destroyed since it is formed only on the inner branches and trunk.
Frost Protection: Although Jaboticabas
can tolerate a few degrees of frost, they do best under frost-free
conditions. In areas where frost may be a problem, providing them
with some overhead protection or planting them next to a wall
or a building may be sufficient. The smallish plants are also
fairly easy to cover during cold snaps by placing carpeting, plastic
sheeting, etc. over a frame around them. Potted specimens can
be moved to a frost-secure area.
Propagation: Most seeds are polyembryonic,
producing a plant that is true or close to the parent plant. The
seeds germinate in about one month. A suggested potting mixture
is 2 parts peat, 2 parts coarse sand and 1 part coarse perlite,
wood shavings or compost. Selected strains can be reproduced by
inarching (approach grafting) or air-layering. Budding is not
easily accomplished because of the thinness of the bark and the
hardness of the of the wood. Veneer or side grafts are fairly
successful. The grafted plant will fruit considerably earlier
than a seedling. One may expect a grafted plant to produce fruit
within three years, It can take from 8 to 15 years for a seedling
to mature into a fruiting tree. It is this very slow growth that
has kept this plant from becoming as popular as it deserves to
be. Grafting older trees over to a different variety is inadvisable
because it is the trunk and inner branches which produce the fruit.
One would have to cut the tree back to a one-inch stump in order
to change its fruiting nature.
When planting a jaboticaba, the crown (uppermost) roots should
be 2 to 3 inches higher than the surrounding soil levels to provide
water runoff. Peat, compost or rotted manure may be mixed with
the soil from the planting hole to improve it. The soil should
be a well-aerated mixture.
Pests and diseases: The fruit and
flowers of some varieties are susceptible to a fungus caused rust
during wet periods. Many flowers may desiccate during dry periods.
Birds, raccoons and opossums are all attracted to fruiting trees.
Deer will sometimes browse on the new foliage, but jaboticaba
roots are not particularly attractive to gophers.
Harvest: fruits are ready to harvest
when they have developed a full color and are somewhat soft like
a ripe grape. They are mostly eaten out-of-hand in South America.
By squeezing the fruit between the thumb and forefinger, one can
cause the skin to split and the pulp to slip into the mouth. The
peeled fruits are often used for making jelly and marmalade, with
the addition of pectin. Jaboticaba wine is made to a limited extent
in Brazil.
Commercial Potential: Jaboticabas
are a significant commercial fruit in Brazil and to a limited
extent in other parts of South America where they thrive. They
are a very tasty fresh fruit, and if they were more plentiful
and were properly promoted, they could have a commercial future
in this country. Their relative frost sensitivity combined with
their slowness to fruit from seedlings is a major drawback to
commercial success.
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CULTIVARS |
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Branca
Produces large bright green flavorful fruit. Medium size and heavy
producer.
Paulista
Large to very large fruit, skin thick and leathery. Flesh juicy,
subacid to sweet. Quality very good, ripens relatively late. Resistant
to rust. Tree strong growing, highly productive though it bears
a single crop. Introduced into California in 1904.
Rajada
Fruit very large, skin green-bronze, thinner than that of Paulista.
Flavor sweet and very good. Tree much like that of Paulista. Midseason.
Sabara
Most prized and most often planted tree in Brazil. Fruit is small,
thin-skinned and sweet. Tree medium-sized, precocious and very
productive. Produces 4 crops per year. Susceptible to flower and
fruit rust.
Ponhema
Produces a large, leathery skinned fruit with a pointed apex.
Must be fully ripe for eating raw. Mostly used in jellies or preserves.
Tree is very large and a heavy producer.
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