Custard apple

Common names of other Anonna species: Atis, Cherimoya, Soursop, Sweetsop
Scientific name: Annona spp.
Family: Annonaceae

picture discription

Photo by Jewel Kinilitan-Bissdorf

Root, leaf, fruit, seeds (Prakash; Rao, 1997: pp. 22-26)

Insecticidal, antifeedant, repellent (Prakash; Rao, 1997: pp. 22-26)

Materials	Method of preparation	How to use	Target pests
Custard apple leaf extract (Vijayalakshmi; et. al., 1998: pp. 1-12) 500 grams of fresh Custard apple leaves 12-17 liters of water Pail Bolo/knife Cooking pot Strainer	Boil leaves in 2 liters of water until the remaining liquid is about œ liter. Strain.	Dilute filtrate with 10-15 liters of water. Fill the sprayer. Spray on infested plants thoroughly.	Aphids Brown plant hopper Caterpillars Coffee green scale Cotton stainer Diamondback moth Grasshopper Green bugs Green leaf hopper House fly
Custard apple seed extract (Stoll, 2000: p. 103) 500 grams of finely ground Custard apple seeds 20 liters of water Pail/basin Strainer r	Add powdered seeds to water. Leave to stand for 1-2 days. Strain.	Spray on infested plants thoroughly.	Ants Aphids
Custard apple seed oil extract (HDRA, 2000) Seeds from unripe fruit Grinder Water Pail	Grind seeds to extract oil.	Dilute 1 part of oil in 20 parts of water. Spray onto the infested plants thoroughly. Powdered seeds (from dried mature seeds) can be dusted directly to the infested plants.	Diamondback moth pupae

Select plant parts that are free from diseases.
When storing the plant parts for future usage, make sure that they are properly dried and are stored in an airy container (never use plastic container), away from direct sunlight and moisture. Make sure that they are free from molds before using them.
Use utensils for the extract preparation that are not use for your food preparation and for drinking and cooking water containers. Clean properly all the utensils every time after using them.
Do not have a direct contact with the crude extract while in the process of the preparation and during the application.
Make sure that you place the plant extract out of reach of children and house pets while leaving it overnight.
Harvest all the mature and ripe fruits before plant extract application.
Always test the plant extract formulation on a few infested plants first before going into large scale spraying. When adding soap as an emulsifier, use a potash-based one.
Wear protective clothing while applying the extract.
Wash your hands after handling the plant extract.

Powdered seeds cause painful irritation when in contact with the eyes.

Dispose properly the presscake as it can be poisonous to animals.

External links

HDRA. (2000): Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostela. Pest Control No. TPC3, June 2000 . Tropical Advisory Service. Henry Doubleday Research Association, UK.
Morton, J. (1987): Custard apple. In: Fruits of warm climates. Julia F. Morton, Miami, FL.
Prakash, A.; Rao, J. (1997): Botanical pesticides in agriculture. CRC Press. USA.
Stoll, G. (2000): Natural Crop Protection in the Tropics Margraf Verlag. Weikersheim.
Vijayalakshmi, K.; Subshashini, B.; Koul, S. (1998): Plants in pest control: Custard apple, vitex, sweet flag, and poison nut. CIKS. Chennai, India.

to the top PAN Germany, OISAT; Email oisat@pan-germany.org