The lack of technologies that allow improvements in sugar-apple culture management, mainly regarding to pruning time and pollination methods, restricts the growth of the cultivated area with this fruit in Brazil. In this sense, the aim is of evaluating sugar-apple fruit development and growth on the basis of pruning time and pollination methods. The experiment was conducted in the city of São Francisco do Itabapoana-RJ, in the period from April 2001 to February 2002. The experimental design was randomized blocks design (RBD), with plots subdivided in 5x3 factorial scheme, being five times of pruning (May, June, July, August and September 2001) and three pollination methods (natural pollination; pollination with soft brush, held directly in flower and pollination with pump), with four replications. The length and diameter of the branches were influenced by the pruning season. Both artificial pollination methods increased the percentage of fruit fertilization. Flowering was influenced by pruning time. On average, the peak of fruit development was verified about 50 days after pollination and it was higher when artificial pollination was used.
Annona squamosa; sugar-apple; fruit tree
