Yield and physical attributes of fruits in yellow passion fruit plants under spacing and pruning in plants irrigated with saline water

Abstract

Sour passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) is a fruit crop of increasing economic importance in Northeast Brazil. Irrigation is crucial for improving the quality and quantity of the fruits, but water salinity can reduce yield, requiring appropriate management practices. Apical pruning and planting spacing management become viable alternatives that can influence fruit production. In this context, the objective was to evaluate the yield, pulp yield, and physical attributes of sour passion fruit irrigated with saline water and subjected to pruning and different spacings. The experiment was conducted in the field using a randomized block design, with four replications of 12 plants per plot, in a 4 × 2 factorial scheme, referring to four spacing (3.0, 6.0, 9.0, and 12 m) between plants, and two pruning managements (presence and absence of pruning of the main stem). The fruit length (FL), fruit diameter (FD), fruit mass (FM), peel mass (PM), peel thickness (PT), pulp yield (PY), and fruit yield (FY) were evaluated. Variables such as FL, FD, FM, PM, PT, and PY showed significant responses in the interaction of the factors studied in sour passion fruit. The spacing significantly influenced the increase in plant yield. Apical pruning management had a considerable impact on the physical characteristics of the fruits, except for FD. Pruning and spacing between plants have significant impacts on the physical attributes and yield of yellow passion fruit irrigated with saline water.