The botanical name of Sapota is Manilkhara achras; it belongs to the family Sapotaceae
Varieties: Oval, Cricket Ball, Kirtibarti, Guthi, CO 1, CO 2, CO 3, PKM 1, PKM 2, PKM 3, PKM 4, and Kalipatti.
Soil and climate: It is a tropical crop and can be grown up to an altitude of 1000 metres. It can be grown in all types of soils.
Planting materials: Grafted on Manilkhara hexandra (Pala) rootstock.
Season of planting: June to December
Spacing: 8 x 8 m spacing. Adopt 8 x 4 m for high density planting
Planting: Dig pits of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m size. Fill up with top soil mixed with 10 Kg of FYM, 1 Kg of neem cake and 100 g of Lindane 1.3%. Plant the grafts in the centre of the pit with ball of earth
intact. The graft joint must be atleast 15 cm above the ground level. Stake the plants properly to avoid bending or damage to graft joint.
Irrigation: Irrigate copiously immediately after planting and on the third day and once in 10 days afterwards till the graft establishes. Manures and fertilizers (Kg/tree)loop
Manures and fertilizers may be applied in September-October, 45 cm away from the trunk upto
the leaf drip and incorporated.
Aftercultivation: Remove the rootstock sprouts, water shoots, criss-cross and lower branches.
Intercropping: Legumes and short duration vegetable crops may be raised as intercrop during pre-bearing stage.
Plant protection against Pests
Leaf webber: Spray phosalone 35 EC 2 ml/lit.
Hairy caterpillars: Spray chloropyriphos 20 EC or endosulfan 35 EC or phosalone 35 EC 2 ml/lit of water.
Bud worm: Spray phosalone 35 EC 2 ml/lit or phosphamidon 40 SL 2 ml/lit or endosulfan 35 EC 2 ml/lit or carbaryl 50 WP @ 2 g/lit or neem seed kernel extract 5 %.
Protection against Diseases
Sooty mould: Boil 1 Kg maida or starch with 5 lit of water, cool and dilute to 20 lit (5 %) and spray. Avoid spraying during cloudy weather.
Harvest: A mature fruit is dull brown in colour and the colour immediately below the skin when scratched is of lighter shade, while in the immature fruits it is green. The mature fruits are harvested by hand picking.
Season: February-June and September-October. Ripen the fruits by keeping a beaker containing 5000 ppm Ethrel + 10 g NaOH pellets in an air tight chamber. (5 ml Ethrel in one lit of water is 5000 ppm)
Yield: 20-25 t/ha/year
