Editing Annona crassiflora (section)

== Propagation ==

Seed is the normal route, and dormancy dominates the process. Fresh seeds show non-deep simple morphophysiological dormancy: the embryo is poorly developed at dispersal, the ruminate endosperm is mainly galactomannans, and radicle emergence in the field commonly begins only after about 150 days.<sup id="cite_ref-10">[[#cite_note-10|[10]]]</sup> In the Cerrado the dormancy break is tied to weather rather than calendar: seeds buried at Lavras lost physiological dormancy during the cool, dry months (lowest minimum temperatures around May–August), embryo growth started in the first two months of the rainy season (September–October), and germination peaked in November as radicle emergence coincided with the start of the rains; field germination commonly takes 230–300 days.<sup>[[#cite_note-6|[6]]]</sup> Germination is epigeous and phanerocotylar; in laboratory sowings germination began about 148 days after sowing and the seedling was fully formed near 190 days.<sup>[[#cite_note-3|[3]]]</sup>

Nursery practice documented in Brazilian trials: after about eight months in the sowing bed, soaking seeds for 24 hours in 500 ppm gibberellic acid broke dormancy, with radicle protrusion about 30 days later, and the pre-germinated seedlings were then potted.<sup>[[#cite_note-4|[4]]]</sup><sup>[[#cite_note-5|[5]]]</sup> In vitro, plantlets grew best on WPM with 25–32 mg L−1 GA3, a tissue-culture result rather than an orchard method.<sup>[[#cite_note-10|[10]]]</sup> There is no breeding program for the species, and cross-breeding attempts reported in 2009 had not succeeded.<sup>[[#cite_note-10|[10]]]</sup>

Grafting is an obvious target because seedlings are slow, but compatibility is poor: araticum scions grafted onto ''Annona emarginata'' 'Terra-fria', ''A. mucosa'' (biribá) and ''A. muricata'' (soursop) rootstocks showed low survival, commonly failing from bud necrosis shortly after grafting. Phenolic compounds concentrated in the araticum cortex, pith and xylem fibers increase on cutting and were identified as the main limiting factor; larger graft diameter and measures to reduce phenolic oxidation are the suggested remedies.<sup>[[#cite_note-7|[7]]]</sup>

One grower report conflicts with the published dormancy pattern and is worth flagging as a single observation: a member in Smyrna, Georgia (USDA zone 8a) noted that about 90% of recently acquired seeds germinated within four weeks with sturdy, meaty stems, expecting vigorous growth; seed provenance, age and treatment were not stated. It does not establish a germination standard against the published 150–300-day figures.<sup id="cite_ref-11">[[#cite_note-11|[11]]]</sup>