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Organic yellow passion fruit productivity due to irrigation, semi protected cultivation and artificial pollination

Produtividade de maracujá-amarelo orgânico em função da irrigação, cultivo semiprotegido e polinização artificial

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the combination between irrigation, semiprotected cultivation, and artificial pollination on the yield, number of fruits, and mass of yellow passion fruit grown under organic production. The experimental design was in randomized blocks set up in split plots (2x2x2) with eight treatments and four replications. The plot consisted of irrigation or rainfed conditions, the second factor corresponds to plant cover with plastic or direct sunlight, and the third factor refers to natural or artificial pollination. Irrigation was performed using a micro-sprinkler system, and pollination was either manual or natural (entomophilous). The evaluated parameters were the number of fruits per plant, the mean fruit mass, and the total and commercial yields in two crop years: from January to August 2019 and from September 2019 to August 2020. The yield per hectare and the number of fruits per plant were not affected by irrigation and semi-protected cultivation. Artificial pollination increased the passion fruit yield by up to 31% under organic cultivation. The number of fruits per plant did not significantly change with the treatments. However, there was a positive linear correction with the yield. The mean fruit mass is higher using the combination between semi-protected cultivation, rainfed conditions, and artificial pollination or direct sunlight with natural pollination regardless of irrigation.

Index terms
Plant science; Fruit farming; Carpenter bees; Passiflora edulis Sims

Resumo

Objetivou-se avaliar o efeito da combinação dos fatores irrigação, cultivo semiprotegido e polinização artificial sobre a produtividade, número e massa de fruto do maracujazeiro-amarelo em sistema orgânico de produção. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados em parcelas divididas (2x2x2), com oito tratamentos e quatro repetições. A parcela constituiu-se em irrigação ou sequeiro; o segundo fator corresponde à cobertura com plástico ou pleno sol, e o terceiro, à polinização natural ou artificial. A irrigação foi do tipo microaspersão, e a polinização, manual ou natural (entomófila). Avaliaram-se o número de frutos por planta; a massa média de frutos, e a produtividade total e comercial, em duas safras: de janeiro a agosto de 2019 e de setembro de 2019 a agosto de 2020. A produtividade por hectare e o número de frutos por planta não são afetados pela irrigação e pelo cultivo semiprotegido, a polinização artificial aumenta em até 31% a produtividade do maracujazeiro em sistema orgânico de produção. O número de frutos por planta não alterou significativamente com os tratamentos, porém teve correção linear positiva com a produtividade. A massa média dos frutos é maior na combinação de cultivo semiprotegido, sequeiro e polinização artificial ou em pleno sol com polinização natural, independentemente de ser irrigado.

Termos para indexação
Fitotecnia; Fruticultura; Mamangava; Passiflora edulis Sims

Introduction

Brazil is the largest yellow passion fruit producer and consumer worldwide (Passiflora edulis Sims), producing 690,360 tons in a harvested area of 46,436 hectares and achieving a mean yield of 14.9 t ha-1 (IBGE,2021 IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Produção agrícola municipal: culturas temporárias e permanentes. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, 2020. Disponível em: http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/5457#resultado. Acesso em: 20 out. 2021.
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).

Passion fruit flowers and fructifies in mixed branches, showing continuous growth under adequate edaphoclimatic conditions ( SOUZA et al., 2012 SOUZA, S.A.M.; MARTINS, K.C.; AZEVEDO, A.S. de; PEREIRA, T.N.S. Fenologia reprodutiva do maracujazeiro-azedo no município de Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ. Ciência Rural, Santa Maria, v.42, n.10, p.1774-1780, 2012. ). In tropical regions, e.g., Acre, Brazil, this species can produce fruits during most of the year with continuous growth and floral production under temperatures above 23 ºC and a photoperiod ≥ 11.8 h during nine months (UCHÔA et al.,2021b UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. ).

Despite the low yield obtained in the state of Acre (8.9 t ha-1) (IBGE, 2021 IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Produção agrícola municipal: culturas temporárias e permanentes. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, 2020. Disponível em: http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/5457#resultado. Acesso em: 20 out. 2021.
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), passion fruit has significant social and economic importance since its cultivation is mainly performed by family farmers motivated by the rapid economic return, high profitability, and welldistributed income obtained with this crop throughout the year (SILVA et al., 2020 SILVA, N.M. da; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; SILVA, S.O. Profitability of organic passion fruit production using tall seedlings and long root system. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.33, n.2, p.341-348, 2020. ; UCHÔA et al., 2021a).

In this scenario, yellow passion fruit is a selfincompatible plant that depends on cross-pollination for fructification (FALEIRO et al., 2019 FALEIRO, F.G.; JUNQUEIRA, N.T.V.; JUNGHANS, T.G.; JESUS, O.N. de; MIRANDA, D.; OTONI, W.C. Advances in passion fruit (Passiflora spp.) propagation. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.41, n.2, p.e-155, 2019. ). Carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.) are considered the effective natural pollinators of this crop due to their morphology and behavioral characteristics (LAGE et al., 2018 LAGE, L.A.; KRAUSE, W.; SILVA, C.A.; DIAS, D.C.; AMBRÓSIO, M.; COBRA, S.S. de O. Morphometry, floral resources and efficiency of natural and artificial pollination in fruit quality in cultivars of sour passion fruit. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.40, n.3, p.e-171, 2018. ; SILVEIRA et al., 2012 SILVEIRA, M.V.; ABOT, A.R.; NASCIMENTO, J.N.; RODRIGUES, E.T.; RODRIGUES, S.R.; PUKER, A. Is manual pollination of yellow passion fruit completely dispensable? Scientia Horticulturae, Amsterdam, v.146, p.99–103, 2012. ).

Even with optimum environmental conditions for flowering, low natural pollination rates may still occur even if the production area is close to native vegetation, including organic cultivation systems (ARAÚJO NETO et al., 2014 ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.de; CAMPOS, P.A.; TAVELLA, L.B.; SOLINO, A.J. da S.; SILVA, I.F. da. Organic polyculture of passion fruit, pineapple, corn and cassava: the influence of green manure and distance between espaliers. Ciência e Agrotecnologia, Lavras, v.38, n.3, p.247-255, 2014. ; FRANCISCO et al., 2020 FRANCISCO, W. de M.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; UCHÔA, T.L.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Productivity and quality of irrigated organic yellow passion fruits in deep planting in Southeastern Amazon. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.42, n.4, p.e-584, 2020. ; GALVÃO et al., 2020 GALVÃO, R. de O.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; SILVA, N.M. da; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic compost as a conditioner of soils cultivated with yellow passion fruit. Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.11, p.e3398, 2020. ; REZENDE et al., 2017 REZENDE, M.I.F.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.; LUSTOSA, C.; HAFLE, O.M.; PENHA PINTO, G.P. Grafting for the recovery of yellow passion fruit stem in organic system. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.39, n.1, p.e-745, 2017. ; SILVA et al., 2019 SILVA, N.M. da; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.de; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic cultivation of yellow passion fruit using tall seedlings with long root systems.Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.10, n.4, p.477-483, 2019. ; UCHÔA et al., 2018 UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de.; SELHORST, P.O.; RODRIGUES, M.J. da S.; GALVÃO, R. de O. Yellow passion fruit performance in organic crop under mulch.Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.40, n.2, p.e-212, 2018. e 2021b UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. ). Therefore, artificial pollination is indispensable for passion fruit cultivation, especially in areas with large populations of Trigona bees (Trigona spp.), western honey bee (Apis mellifera), and other wild bees that harm flowers and/or steal pollen (JUNQUEIRA et al., 2013 JUNQUEIRA, C.N.; YAMAMOTO, M.; OLIVEIRA, P.E.; HOGENDOORN, K.; AUGUSTO, S.C. Nest management increases pollinator density in passion fruit orchards. Apidologie, Paris, v.44, n.1, p.729-737, 2013. ; MASCARELLO et al., 2019 MASCARELLO, F.B.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; SILVA, N.M. da; MACHADO, L.; ROCHA, C.; UCHÔA, T.L. Polinização artificial de diferentes números de estigmas na frutificação do maracujazeiro amarelo em cultivo orgânico. Revista Brasileira de Ciências da Amazônia, Rolim de Moura, v.8, n.4, p.1-14, 2019. ).

Another problem for passion fruit cultivation in Acre is the drought period from May to September (INMET, 2020 INMET - Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia. Banco de dados meteorológicos para ensino e pesquisa. Brasília, 2020. Disponível em: http://www.inmet.gov.br/portal/index.php?r=bdmep/bdmep. Acesso em: 23 dez. 2020.
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). This period shows water deficit and causes a decline in passion fruit production under rainfed farming conditions (SILVA et al., 2019 SILVA, N.M. da; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.de; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic cultivation of yellow passion fruit using tall seedlings with long root systems.Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.10, n.4, p.477-483, 2019. ; UCHÔA et al., 2021b UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. ), even preventing the recovery from water stress, which compromises the next crop seasons (GALVÃO et al., 2020 GALVÃO, R. de O.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; SILVA, N.M. da; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic compost as a conditioner of soils cultivated with yellow passion fruit. Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.11, p.e3398, 2020. ). However, under prolonged drought conditions, irrigation reduces the effects of water deficit and increases the yield and profitability of this crop (CAVALCANTE et al., 2020 CAVALCANTE, A.G.; CAVALCANTE, L.F.; SOUTO, A.G. de L.; CAVALCANTE, A.C.P.; ARAÚJO, D.L. de; NASCIMENTO, A.P.P.do; ZANUNCIO, J.C. Physiology and production of yellow passion fruit with hydroabsorbent polymer and different irrigation depths. Revista Ceres, Viçosa, MG, v.67, n.5, p.365-373, 2020. ; UCHÔA et al., 2021a UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SILVA, N.M. da; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; PINTO, G.P. Economic profitability of yellow passion fruit in organic cultivation under different input levels and irrigation. Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.12, p.e3409, 2021a. ; UCHÔA et al., 2021b UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. ).

On the other hand, the intense rainfall during flowering peaks compromises pollination due to the absence of carpenter bees and the hygroscopic character of pollen grains, which may burst in highmoisture environments. Therefore, in order to minimize meteorological effects, fruit farming also employs technologies such as protected cultivation, protecting plants from direct solar radiation and excessive rainfall. As a result, in the case of passion fruit, the integrity of pollen grains is maintained, thus increasing fertilization and fruit production (KOETZ et al., 2010 KOETZ, M.; CARVALHO, J. de A.; SOUZA, A.M.G. de; SOUZA K.J. de. Qualidade de frutos do maracujazeiro-amarelo em ambiente protegido e natural produzidos sob diferentes regimes de irrigação. Revista Brasileira de Agricultura Irrigada, Fortaleza, v.4, n.2, p.115-126, 2010. ). After pollination, the stigmas should remain dry for at least two hours to allow fecundation (BRUCKNER; PICANÇO, 2001 BRUCKNER, C.H.; PICANÇO, M.C. Maracujá: tecnologia de produção, pós-colheita, agroindústria, mercado. Porto Alegre: Cinco continentes, 2001. ). Although artificial pollination, semi-protected cultivation, and irrigation increase production costs, these techniques can increase crop yield and profitability, as observed by Uchôa et al. (2021a) UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SILVA, N.M. da; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; PINTO, G.P. Economic profitability of yellow passion fruit in organic cultivation under different input levels and irrigation. Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.12, p.e3409, 2021a. with irrigation and growing input levels.

From this perspective, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of micro-sprinkler irrigation, semi-protected cultivation, and artificial pollination on the yield, the number of fruits, and the fruit mass of yellow passion fruit under organic cultivation.

Material and methods

The experiment was conducted at the Seridó Ecological Station in Rio Branco, Acre, located at the following coordinates: 9º 53’ 16’’ S and 67º 49’ 11’’ W, at an elevation of 170 m above sea level.

The soil of the area is classified as a Plinthic Lithic RED YELLOW ULTISOL without apparent erosion, slightly undulating topography, and moderate drainage.

The chemical attributes of the soil layer from 0 cm to 20 cm are as follows: pH = 6.3; P = 1.0 mg.dm-3; K = 1.1 mmolc.dm-3; Ca = 24 mmolc.dm-3; Mg = 11 mmolc.dm-3; Al+H = 31 mmolc.dm-3; M.O. = 17 g.dm-3; SB = 36.1 mmolc. dm-3; CEC = 67.1 mmolc.dm-3; V = 53.8%; Ca/Mg = 2.18; and Mg/K = 10.0.

The climate is hot, humid, and classified as Am according to the Köppen classification, with mean annual temperatures around 24.5 ºC, relative air humidity of 84%, and annual rainfall ranging from 1,700 mm to 2,400 mm (INMET, 2020 INMET - Instituto Nacional de Meteorologia. Banco de dados meteorológicos para ensino e pesquisa. Brasília, 2020. Disponível em: http://www.inmet.gov.br/portal/index.php?r=bdmep/bdmep. Acesso em: 23 dez. 2020.
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).Local meteorological data for the experiment are shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1
Rainfall (mm), relative air humidity (%), mean monthly temperature (°C), and photoperiod (h/day) during the experimental period. Rio Branco, AC, Brazil, 2018 to 2020. Source: Inmet (2020).

The experimental design was in randomized blocks and set up in a factorial arrangement with split plots (2 x 2 x 2) corresponding to eight treatments and four replications, with four plants per experimental unit. Each plot consisted of irrigated or rainfed cultivation, in which the two other factors were distributed: cultivation environment (semi-protected or direct sunlight) and pollination (artificial or natural).

The passion fruit cultivar used in the experiment was an F4 variety of public domain formed by genotypes 2, 22, 23, 35, 37, 33, and 20 from Viçosa (MG, Brasil), the State University of Northern Rio de Janeiro (Campos dos Goytacazes, RJ, Brazil), and the municipalities of Brasiléia and Rio Branco (AC, Brasil) (NEGREIROS et al., 2008 NEGREIROS, J.R.S.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; ÁLVARES, V.S.; LIMA, V.A.; OLIVEIRA, T.K. de .Caracterização de frutos de progênies de meios-irmãos de maracujazeiro amarelo em Rio Branco – Acre. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.30, n.2, p.431-437, 2008. ).

Seedling production occurred from May to September 2018 in a plant nursery covered with a 100 μm transparent plastic film and a 50% shading screen on the sides. The seeds were sown in 200-cell polystyrene trays and transplanted after emergence to 3-L plastic bags containing a substrate with the following composition: 33% soil, 33% organic compost, 33% ouricuri palm fiber (Attalea phalerata), 1.0 kg m-3 of dolomitic limestone, 1.5 kg m-3 of natural thermophosphate, and 1.0 kg m-3 of potassium sulfate.

The plants received irrigation twice a day, and the substrate was maintained within field capacity until the plants reached 1.5 m in height and had a mean base diameter of 4.76 mm, when they were then transplanted to the field in September 2018 at a spacing of 2.5 m between rows and 3.0 m between plants in the row, with evaluations until August 2020.

After the area was cleaned, planting holes 80 cm wide and 30 cm deep were opened with a motorized drill and fertilized with 20 L of organic compost, 500 g of limestone, and 200 g of thermophosphate.

After planting, the plants were conducted in a vertical trellis system using smooth wire no. 12 at the height of 2 m, whereas strings were used as trainers. The plants were monitored and thinned weekly to conduct them in a single stem (main branch). When exceeding 10 cm above the wire, the apex was cut so that the two shoots closest to the wire were conducted in opposite directions until they reached 1.5 m in length, the ideal condition for thinning. The tertiary branches that emerged from these were then conducted toward the soil and subsequently pruned at 20 cm from the ground to stimulate the emission of quaternary branches.

Two topdressing fertilization interventions were performed during crop formation: one 60 days after planting with 176.5 g plant-1 of P2O5 and 88.2 g plant-1 of K2SO4, and another 120 days after planting with 176.5 g plant-1 of P2O5 and 88.2 g plant-1 of K2SO4. In both applications, thermophosphate was used as the P source, whereas potassium sulfate was used as the K source.

Semi-protected cultivation was set up in the upper part of the trellis using a wooden structure and 100 m transparent plastic film (Figure 2).

Figure 2
Plastic cover with the 100 ? transparent film. Seridó Ecological Station, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil, 2018-2020.

Irrigation was performed using a micro-sprinkler system with one emitter per plant at a flow rate of 67.5 L h-1. The moment of irrigation was defined by the soil water matric potential, measured with a tensiometer fixed at 0.15 m from the plant and at a depth of 0.20 m in the soil. When the value was close to 60 kPa, it indicated the moment when supplementary water had to be provided (DUTRA et al., 2018 DUTRA, A.F.; MELO, A.S. de; BRITO, M.E.B.; SUASSUNA, J.F.; DUTRA, W.F. Photochemical and productive performance of yellow passion fruit irrigated in the Brazilian semiarid. Engenharia Agrícola, Jaboticabal, v.38, n.6, p.901-909, 2018. ). The readings were performed daily using a digital reader.

Artificial pollination was performed daily between 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. with naked fingers. Before or during pollination, the plant anthers were collected so that the operator could pass the fingertips with pollen on the surface of the stigmas.

After topdressing fertilization, a mulch cover measuring 50 cm x 50 cm was laid at the base of the plants to prevent weeds and avoid constant hoeing and root cutting.

Passion fruit harvest was performed two to three times a week by collecting the fruits on the ground and the ripe fruits attached to the plants. All fruits that showed 55% of yellow peel color were considered ripe since, at this point, fruit quality is best preserved, and the shelf-life is extended (SANTOS et al., 2013 SANTOS, J.L.V. dos; RESENDE, E.D.; MARTINS, D.R.; GRAVINA, G. de A.; CENCI, S.A.; MALDONADO, J.F.M. Determinação do ponto de colheita de diferentes cultivares de maracujá.Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola e Ambiental, Campina Grande, v.17, n.7, p.750-755, 2013. ).

The variables analyzed were the mean number of fruits per plant (NFP), obtained by the quotient between the total number of fruits in the plot and the number of plants; the mean fruit mass (MMF), determined by the quotient between the total fruit mass and the total number of harvested fruits; fruit yield, estimated for one hectare considering the fruit mass produced in the plot (30 m2), with values estimated in kg ha-1 and considering the total and commercial yield after discarding the fruits without commercial standard. Cultivation continued for two years, and the first crop year occurred from January to August 2019, whereas the second crop year occurred from September 2019 to August 2020.

Statistical analysis was performed by checking the normality of errors by the Shapiro-Wilk test and the homogeneity of variances by the Bartlett test. Then, analysis of variance was performed, and the F-test was applied when differences were observed between two treatments (p<0.05). Finally, Pearson’s linear correlation analysis was also performed.

Results and discussion

The total and commercial fruit yields in both crop years increased through artificial pollination and were not influenced by semi-protected cultivation and irrigation (Table 1).

Table 1
Commercial yield of the first and second crop years, total commercial yield, and total f passion fruit yield as a function of different cultivation arrangements. Seridó Ecologial Station, AC, Brazil, 2018 to 2020.

The sum of the commercial yield values in the two crop years was 32.4 t ha-1 with artificial pollination but with a potential for 34.9 t ha-1 if considering the discarded fruits.

The highest commercial yield in the second crop year was 24.2 t ha-1, above the 2020 state and national means of 14.9 t ha-1 and 8.9 t ha-1, respectively (IBGE, 2021 IBGE - Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística. Produção agrícola municipal: culturas temporárias e permanentes. Rio de Janeiro: IBGE, 2020. Disponível em: http://www.sidra.ibge.gov.br/tabela/5457#resultado. Acesso em: 20 out. 2021.
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). This value was also higher than the yield observed in two crop years under organic cultivation by Araújo Neto et al. (2014) ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.de; CAMPOS, P.A.; TAVELLA, L.B.; SOLINO, A.J. da S.; SILVA, I.F. da. Organic polyculture of passion fruit, pineapple, corn and cassava: the influence of green manure and distance between espaliers. Ciência e Agrotecnologia, Lavras, v.38, n.3, p.247-255, 2014. , Francisco et al. (2020) FRANCISCO, W. de M.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; UCHÔA, T.L.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Productivity and quality of irrigated organic yellow passion fruits in deep planting in Southeastern Amazon. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.42, n.4, p.e-584, 2020. , Silva et al. (2019) SILVA, N.M. da; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.de; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic cultivation of yellow passion fruit using tall seedlings with long root systems.Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.10, n.4, p.477-483, 2019. , and Uchôa et al. (2021b) UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. , corresponding to 21.8 t ha-1, 18.8 t ha-1, 7.5 t ha-1, and 17.4 t ha-1, respectively.

The plants under artificial pollination produced 31% more commercial fruits than those that only received entomophilous pollination (Table 1), which was also confirmed by Krause et al. (2012) KRAUSE, W.; NEVES, L.G.; VIANA, A.P.; ARAÚJO, C.A.T.; FALEIRO, F.G. Produtividade e qualidade de frutos de cultivares de maracujazeiro amarelo com ou sem polinização artificial. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, Brasília, DF, v.47, n.12, p.1737-1742, 2012. and Mascarello et al. (2019) MASCARELLO, F.B.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; SILVA, N.M. da; MACHADO, L.; ROCHA, C.; UCHÔA, T.L. Polinização artificial de diferentes números de estigmas na frutificação do maracujazeiro amarelo em cultivo orgânico. Revista Brasileira de Ciências da Amazônia, Rolim de Moura, v.8, n.4, p.1-14, 2019. , who verified the effectiveness of artificial pollination in passion fruit. In this case, even with organic cultivation in a small passion fruit area with an adjacent forest and daily presence of carpenter bees, artificial pollination was more effective in increasing the yield.

Despite the lower yield obtained with natural pollination, this practice promoted high commercial fruit yields in the two crop years, with a mean value of 24.7 t ha-1 (Table 1).

This result is attributed to the constant presence of carpenter bees in the cultivation environment (Figure 1).

Furthermore, these species are considered efficient yellow passion fruit pollinators in Brazil (KRAUSE et al., 2012 KRAUSE, W.; NEVES, L.G.; VIANA, A.P.; ARAÚJO, C.A.T.; FALEIRO, F.G. Produtividade e qualidade de frutos de cultivares de maracujazeiro amarelo com ou sem polinização artificial. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, Brasília, DF, v.47, n.12, p.1737-1742, 2012. ; LAGE et al., 2018 LAGE, L.A.; KRAUSE, W.; SILVA, C.A.; DIAS, D.C.; AMBRÓSIO, M.; COBRA, S.S. de O. Morphometry, floral resources and efficiency of natural and artificial pollination in fruit quality in cultivars of sour passion fruit. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.40, n.3, p.e-171, 2018. ; SILVEIRA et al., 2012 SILVEIRA, M.V.; ABOT, A.R.; NASCIMENTO, J.N.; RODRIGUES, E.T.; RODRIGUES, S.R.; PUKER, A. Is manual pollination of yellow passion fruit completely dispensable? Scientia Horticulturae, Amsterdam, v.146, p.99–103, 2012. ). The increase in labor cost for artificial passion fruit pollination could be compensated by the increase in fruit mass and yield.

Carvalho et al. (2010) CARVALHO, J. de A.; KOETZ, M.; SOUSA, A.M.G. de; SOUZA, K.J. de. Desenvolvimento e produtividade do maracujazeiro-amarelo irrigado sob diferentes lâminas de irrigação em ambiente protegido e natural. Engenharia Agrícola, Jaboticabal, v.30, n.5, p.862-874, 2010 recorded the maximum yield of 68,750 kg.ha-1 when using irrigation, protected cultivation, and artificial pollination. With organic cultivation, the minimum yield necessary to cover production costs is low, around 5.49 t ha-1, including irrigation and artificial pollination (FRANCISCO et al., 2021 FRANCISCO, W. de M.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; UCHÔA, T.L.; SILVA, N.M. da.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; PINTO, G.P.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Análise econômica da produção de maracujazeiro amarelo orgânico irrigado e em plantio profundo no sudoeste amazônico. Brazilian Journals of Business, Curitiba, v.3, n.5, p.3684-3696, 2021. ), in addition to favoring job creation in the field and family income.

In this experiment, the constant presence of field pollinators is related to the preservation and conservation of the vegetation in the adjacent area, which is essential for organic production systems. According to Silveira et al. (2012) SILVEIRA, M.V.; ABOT, A.R.; NASCIMENTO, J.N.; RODRIGUES, E.T.; RODRIGUES, S.R.; PUKER, A. Is manual pollination of yellow passion fruit completely dispensable? Scientia Horticulturae, Amsterdam, v.146, p.99–103, 2012. , conserved natural landscapes can provide these pollinators with an adequate nidification environment and natural food sources during the absence of flowers.

Irrigated cultivation did not result in higher yields compared to rainfed cultivation since the latter was favored by the rainfall events that occurred during the first four months after field planting (1,025.8 mm), higher than the minimum required for one passion fruit cycle, which, according to Silva e Klar (2002) SILVA, A.A.G. da; KLAR, A.E. Demanda hídrica do maracujazeiro amarelo (Passiflora edulis Sims f.flavicarpa Deg.). Irriga, Botucatu, v.7, n.3, p.185-190, 2002. , is 954.98 mm.

This phenomenon contributed to plant development in both crop years and allowed equivalent yield values for both water supplies.

Therefore, plants grown under rainfed conditions showed good establishment in the field and, after the subsequent drought period, maintained fruit production due to their high vigor. Furthermore, planting was performed using tall seedlings, a condition that favors early production and increased fruit yield and quality (SANTOS et al., 2017 SANTOS, V.A. dos; RAMOS, J.D.; LAREDO, R.R.; SILVA, F.O. dos R.; CHAGAS, E.A.; PASQUAL, M. Produção e qualidade de frutos de maracujazeiro-amarelo provenientes do cultivo com mudas em diferentes idades. Revista de Ciências Agroveterinárias, Lages, v.16, n.1, p.33-40, 2017 ).

The mean number of fruits per plant in the first crop year ranged from 29.8 to 45.5, whereas this variable ranged from 98.5 to 146.3 in the second crop year, not differing statistically between production factors (Table 2).

Table 2
Mean number of fruits per plant as a function of production factors in the first and second crop years. Seridó Ecological Station, Rio Branco - AC, Brazil, 2019-2020.

Although there was no significant effect on the number of fruits, this parameter showed high values (Table 2) favored by organic cultivation, with the production of healthy and productive branches that, under favorable edaphoclimatic conditions, produced a larger number of flowers and showed more fruit establishment, thus directly influencing the yield (FRANCISCO et al., 2020 FRANCISCO, W. de M.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; UCHÔA, T.L.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Productivity and quality of irrigated organic yellow passion fruits in deep planting in Southeastern Amazon. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.42, n.4, p.e-584, 2020. ; UCHÔA et al., 2021b UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. ).

There was a positive linear correlation between the number of commercial fruits per plant and the commercial yield in both crop years, with the yield value depending on the number of fruits producer per plant, estimated with a determination degree of r= 0.91 for the first crop year and r= 0.99 for the second (Figure 3). There was no correlation between the number of fruits and the mean fruit mass in the first (r² = - 0.122) and second crop years (r² = - 0.068) and between the mean fruit mass and the yield in the first (r² = - 0.0799) and second crop years (r²= 0.148).

Figure 3
Linear correlation between the number of fruits per plant and the yield of yellow passion fruit. Seridó Ecological Station, Rio Branco - AC, Brazil, 2020.

The production factors (pollination, semi-protected cultivation, and irrigation) interacted and influenced the mean commercial fruit mass in the two crop years (Table 3), with a higher influence on the plants under semiprotected cultivation, rainfed cultivation, and artificial pollination in both crop years.

Table 3
Mean commercial fruit mass of passion fruit as a function of cultivation arrangements. Seridó Ecological Station, Rio Branco - AC, Brazil, 2019-2020.

Under rainfed conditions, passion fruit uses adaptative strategies to increase the photosynthesis efficiency and decrease the respiratory rate in order to maintain production (CAVALCANTE et al., 2020 CAVALCANTE, A.G.; CAVALCANTE, L.F.; SOUTO, A.G. de L.; CAVALCANTE, A.C.P.; ARAÚJO, D.L. de; NASCIMENTO, A.P.P.do; ZANUNCIO, J.C. Physiology and production of yellow passion fruit with hydroabsorbent polymer and different irrigation depths. Revista Ceres, Viçosa, MG, v.67, n.5, p.365-373, 2020. ).

However, the supply of 80% of the crop water requirement is sufficient to maintain physiological processes without limiting the stomatal inflow of carbon dioxide and carbon assimilation during the photosynthetic processes (SOUZA; RIBEIRO, 2016 SOUZA, S.F. de; RIBEIRO, V.G. Yellow passion-fruit irrigated in diferent cropping systems. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.38, n.3, p.e-512, 2016. ), thus turning the implantation of irrigation into a safety measure for long drought periods, in which the plant population may decline (SILVA et al., 2019 SILVA, N.M. da; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E.de; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic cultivation of yellow passion fruit using tall seedlings with long root systems.Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.10, n.4, p.477-483, 2019. ; UCHÔA et al., 2021b UCHÔA, T.L.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; FRANCISCO, W. de M.; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; SILVA, N.M. da. Yield and quality of passion fruit under organic cultivation with input levels and irrigation in the state of acre. Revista Caatinga, Mossoró, v.34, n.1, p.144-154, 2021b. ) and even result in no fruit production (GALVÃO et al., 2020 GALVÃO, R. de O.; ARAÚJO NETO, S.E. de; SILVA, N.M. da; SOUZA, L.G. de S.; UCHÔA, T.L.; FERREIRA, R.L.F. Organic compost as a conditioner of soils cultivated with yellow passion fruit. Comunicata Scientiae, Bom Jesus, v.11, p.e3398, 2020. ).

Artificial pollination, plastic covers, and rainfed cultivation were isolated factors that contributed significantly to increasing the mean fruit mass (Table 3).

Since, in passion fruit, the number of seeds is intimately related to the amount of pollen deposited on the stigmas, the fruit biomass is expected to increase with the number of pollinated stigmas (SILVEIRA et al., 2012 SILVEIRA, M.V.; ABOT, A.R.; NASCIMENTO, J.N.; RODRIGUES, E.T.; RODRIGUES, S.R.; PUKER, A. Is manual pollination of yellow passion fruit completely dispensable? Scientia Horticulturae, Amsterdam, v.146, p.99–103, 2012. ).

Allied to artificial pollination, the plastic cover offered protection for the pollen deposited on the flower stigmas. According to Lage et al. (2018) LAGE, L.A.; KRAUSE, W.; SILVA, C.A.; DIAS, D.C.; AMBRÓSIO, M.; COBRA, S.S. de O. Morphometry, floral resources and efficiency of natural and artificial pollination in fruit quality in cultivars of sour passion fruit. Revista Brasileira de Fruticultura, Jaboticabal, v.40, n.3, p.e-171, 2018. , climatic factors such as relative air humidity and temperature can influence the viability of the pollen grain.

Conclusions

Micro-sprinkler irrigation and semi-protected cultivation did not affect the yield per hectare and the number of fruits per plant.

Artificial pollination increased the passion fruit yield by up to 31% under organic cultivation.

The fruit mass is favored by combining a semiprotected environment, rainfed cultivation, and artificial pollination or by direct sunlight with natural pollination regardless of irrigation.

Irrigation and pollination increase the mean fruit mass under direct sunlight conditions.

Acknowledgments

This work was performed with the support of the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel, Brazil (CAPES), Financing Code 001, and the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), process number 306787/2018-0.

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Publication Dates

  • Publication in this collection
    10 June 2022
  • Date of issue
    2022

History

  • Received
    08 Feb 2022
  • Accepted
    19 Apr 2022
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