Passion fruit is a perennial vigorous vine, which grows to give oval or round shaped fruit.
This vine is native to tropical regions of southern Brazil , this succulent fruit is also grown in Uganda and mainly in Masaka and Kasese districts;
This fruit is easy to grow as it gives back to the farmer in only 8-12 months.
HOW TO GROW PASSION FRUITS,
Propagate your passion fruits using either seeds , stem cuttings , or even grafted prop gules.
HOW TO PLANT PASSION FRUITS
Plants passion fruit in at least (2x20) ft width and 3ft depth.
The holes must be well fertilized.
Open up the planting holes at 2-3 months earlier, this gives room to kill the soil pests and it borne diseases.
After mix the top soil with compost and then put it back , as this is very important at the initial stages.
To further boost the plant growth , add NPK and CAN fertilizer at the climbing stage and when the branches start to develop.
Harvest your passion fruits 4-6 weeks after transfer to the main field .
Trellis the fruit with 270 cm long and 15 cm in diameter posts. Place these posts in 60 cm deep holes spaced at 6m apart in rows midway between the plants.
HOW TO HARVEST PASSION FRUITS
Harvesting of passion fruit starts from 8-12 months especially for the purple ones.
Pick fruit when they turn from green to purple, and when the calyx has dried up leaving a small stalk attached.
For processing , fruits should preferably be left to drop on to clean mulch .they should not be plucked from their stems.
Usually fruits which have dropped can be collected once or twice a week . During the rainy season they should be picked up every other day and kept in a cool place.
