Quality of yellow passion fruit as a function of irrigation, artificial pollination, and protected cultivation

Abstract

Passion fruit stands out among the fruit crops of economic expression in Brazil due to the medicinal, cosmetic, and organoleptic properties of its fruits, having great acceptance by consumers. In this scenario, this study aimed to evaluate the physical and chemical quality of organic yellow passion fruit as a function of pollination combined with irrigation and protected cultivation. The experimental design was in randomized blocks arranged in split plots (2 x 2 x 2), with eight treatments and four replications containing four plants per experimental unit. The protected environment was set up on the upper part of each espalier, consisting of a 100μ transparent plastic film used as cover. Irrigation was performed using a micro-sprinkler system, and pollination was either manual or natural (entomophilic). The following parameters were evaluated: soluble solids content; total titratable acidity; ratio of soluble solids to titratable acidity; gross pulp yield; and juice yield. Fruits were also classified according to their physical appearance by counting the number of fruits with slight, severe, or no damage, in addition to the equatorial fruit diameter. These assessments were carried out in two periods: crop season 1 (January to August 2019) and crop season 2 (September 2019 to August 2020). The results revelated that the cultivation system combining rainfed conditions, plastic protection of plants, and artificial pollination produced fruits with larger diameters and more class 5 fruits. Moreover, the cropping systems did not influence the gross pulp yield, juice yield, titratable acidity, soluble solids, and the ratio of soluble solids to titratable acidity.