ABSTRACT
The atemoya is a hybrid of the cherimoya and the sweet sop, which was created for commercial purposes in the United States in the early twentieth century, although it has also been generated in nature where the trees grown naturally near each other and in orchards where the two trees have been planted close together. Some of the best hybrids have originated from Israel. The atemoya is slightly hardier than one of its parents, the sweet sop (see Chapter 91), but not as tolerant of cold as the other, the cherimoya. The atemoya tree closely resembles the cherimoya tree, and the fruit is similar in appearance and taste, although some selections have proven much better than others. Atemoya trees, rather than cherimoya trees, are planted only in locations (typically at lower elevations) where cherimoyas cannot be grown because cherimoyas produce better-tasting fruit.
