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SP101

Japanese persimmons, Diospyros kaki L., originated in China and were frst grown in Florida in the 1870s. At one time, there were commercial plantings of astringent types, numbering about 22,750 trees. Because of marketing difculties, this industry ceased. California is the largest producer of Japanese persimmons, followed by Florida and southern Texas. According to the 2017 Census of Agriculture data for all persimmons in the United States, most plantings are on a small scale. Of the nearly 2,400 farms growing the fruit, about 70% have less than 1 acre, and 90% have less than 5 acres. Current acreage in Florida is estimated to be 266 acres as of 2017, down from 324 in 2012 and from the estimated high of 500 acres in the mid-1990s. However, the number of farms in Florida growing the fruit has increased from 164 to 227 during the 2012 to 2017 period, further emphasizing the small-scale nature of average acreage of persimmons per farm. Trees grow and fruit best in central and northern Florida and can produce high yields of good-quality fruit. In south Florida, fruit quality is better with astringent types than with nonastringent types.

1. This document is SP101, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date April 1994. Revised February 2020. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.uf.edu for the currently supported version of this publication. This is a major revision of Oriental Persimmons in Florida by E. P. Miller and T. E. Crocker, available at https://ufdc.uf.edu/IR00005924/00001.

2. Ali Sarkhosh, assistant professor and Extension specialist, Horticultural Sciences Department; Peter C. Andersen, professor emeritus, Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS North Florida Research and Education Center; and Dustin Huf, biological scientist, Horticultural Sciences Department; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.