Fruits > Sapota > Harvesting

The fruiting starts from third year after planting but the economic yield can be obtained from seventh year onwards. Being climateric fruit, it improves in quality after harvesting but pre-mature harvesting leads to poor quality. On the other hand, fruits harvested late soften quickly resulting in spoilage during handling and transport.

At maturity, the brown scurf on the fruit surface is replaced by yellowish corky brown colour. The absence of green tissues and latex also indicates maturity. The fruits are picked by hand or harvested with special harvester which has a round ring with a net bag fixed on a long pole.

Yield

In general a fully mature tree of 10 to 15 years of age yields 1000-3000 fruits/tree depending on the variety and management practices.