Chiku is the most delicious fruit of an American tropical ever-green and long-lived tree Sapota Arachis L. It is also popularly called as Sapota, Sapodilla and Zapota. It is a member of family Sapotaceae and fruits abundantly. It is native to the eastern Mexico, Central American rain-forest and the Caribbean.
Chiku is propagated from the seed, but seed-born trees take long to fruit. Asexual means of propagation like grafting, budding and air-layering have given best results and also fruit much earlier. The seeds are black, glossy and hard to press. The seeds are inedible due to the higher content of Saponins and tannins, which make it extremely pungent. The Chiku tree can attain a height of 30 meters and is highly resistant to gusty winds and soil salinity. Sandy, clayey and loamy soils are considered as the best for its cultivation.
The important Chiku growing countries in the world are: India, Africa, Thailand, the West Indies, Indonesia, Tropical America, Bangladesh, the Bahamas and the southern Florida. In Pakistan, Chiku is cultivated in the coastal areas of Balochistan viz, Hub, Kathore and Windor. In Sindh, it is cultivated in Karachi, Malir, Thatta, Hyderabad, Nawabshah and Mirpurkhas districts. Only 2 varieties are under cultivation, viz, Oval and the Round. The Oval variety has an edge over the Round and is more sweet and fragrant. The Chiku plant flowers all over the year and fruits twice a year once from May to September and again from December to March.
On ripening the fruit skin turns brown and the fruit becomes a bit soft with 3-4 seeds embedded in the pulp which are easily separated from the flesh, when the flesh of the fruit is scooped out with a spoon. The milky latex also starts disappearing as the fruit is ripening. Chiku is a table fruit and is served as a dessert. It also flavours cold drinks, milk-shakes, confectionaries, cakes, jams, jellies, ice-cream and snacks. Chiku also provides raw material for the manufacture of industrial glucose and is canned like the pineapple slices. Chiku is also used to make a kind of wine in Trinidad. Young shoots of the Chiku plant and leaves steamed with rice are very fondly eaten in Indonesia. The "gummy" latex called "Chicle" is used to make chewing-gum, and the chocolates.
Chiku has a vast array of nutrients. Vitamin A in it, keeps the skin, mucous membrane healthy and protects the lungs from cancer. Vitamin C aids in the night vision, keeps bones, joints, teeth, gums healthy and also protects from the infections. Chiku is an excellent source of protein, fiber, phosphorus, calcium, iron, selenium, pantothenic acid and zinc that keep our body in good health. The milky latex prevents colon cancer and is also used by the dental Surgeons for filling the dental cavities.
Chiku is astringent, tonic and febrifuge, Eating Chiku not only relieves in nose-blockages, but also sooths agitated nerves and helps in nose-blockages and anti-inflammatory, cure cold, cough and diarrhea, ailments. High content of fiber in Chiku keeps digestion good. Tannins in the Chiku fruit treat the piles. Chiku has haemostatic qualities, decreases blood loss in the piles and other internal injuries. Folic acid helps in the formation of red blood cells. Seed paste is applied to the stings and insect bites for relief.
Chiku is a big fruit crop in many countries of the world. But in Pakistan it is cultivated as a small fruit crop. Chiku research is in the "offing" in Sindh at the Horticultural Research Institute, Mirpurkhas and a research station has also been established at Thatta, where the research has given encouraging results. It is hoped that in near future. Sindh might have varieties that can produce quality fruit, not only for home consumption, but also for export to earn foreign exchange like other Chiku producing countries.
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