Jul. 22, 2019
In Puerto Rico, the wide range of forms and types of seedling soursops are roughly divided into 3 general classifications: sweet, subacid, and acid; then subdivided as round, heart-shaped, oblong or angular; and finally classed according to flesh consistency which varies from soft and juicy to firm and comparatively dry. The University of Puerto Rico's Agricultural Experiment Station at one time cataloged 14 different types of soursops in an area between Aibonito and Coamo.
In El Salvador, 2 types of soursops are distinguished: guanaba azucaron (sweet) eaten raw and used for drinks; and guanaba acida (very sour), used only for drinks.
In the Dominican Republic, the guanabana dulce (sweet soursop) is most sought after. The term "sweet" is used in a relative sense to indicate low acidity. A medium-sized, yellow-green soursop called guanabana sin fibre (fiberless) has been vegetatively propagated at the Agricultural Experiment Station at Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba. The foliage of this superior clone is distinctly bluish-green.
In 1920, Dr. Wilson Popenoe sent to the United States Department of Agriculture, from Costa Rica, budwood of a soursop he named 'Bennett' in honor of G.S. Bennett, Agricultural Superintendent of the Costa Rican Division of the United Fruit Company. He described the fruit as large and handsome and he declared the tree to be the most productive he had seen.