Phoenix Tropicals Gardening

[darkcoolboo]

I heard in this YouTube video about cherimoya/atemoya pollination that fruit flies will pollinate most of the flowers. As long as you keep some rotting apples in a bucket with fireflies eggs/larvae nearby to allow them to multiply, then it is a great alternative to wind pollination. Of course it isn't as reliable as hand-pollination, it's still better than wind-pollination. Bees don't really work here, so fruit flies do the job instead of beetles.

Cherimoya Hand Pollination Part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuSvo00gdYo
Minute 6, second 36; 6:36
It is said that the success rate is 100% if the population of fruit fly is high.

[darkcoolboo]

You can do this by hanging a bucket of rooting apples or overripe bananas to the main trunk. If you've never have a Annona fruit, this very well might be worth a try. Another resource:
http://www.dailynews.com/lifestyle/20130807/joshua-siskin-exotic-cherimoya-tree-is-worth-the-effort-pays-off-in-unique-fruit

[phoenixtropicals]

Good idea. I have an atemoya here in Mesa AZ and it has been the ground for 6 years and no fruit. I will try this. However, maybe it is our climate. We are humid sometimes though, so you would think I'd get at least a fruit every now and then.