What Soil Is Best for Growing Passion Fruit? A Detailed Guide to Cultivation Methods
When people talk about passion fruit, they think of lemon tea, which is very popular in midsummer. It is rich in nutrients. Not only that, passion fruit carries the fragrance of many kinds of fruit, and eating it regularly is good for the body. Its rind is useful too and can be used to make medicine, cook soup and brew tea. So what soil is best for passion fruit? Let's take a look together with the editor.
What Soil Is Best for Growing Passion Fruit
1. Passion fruit is highly adaptable and does not demand much from the soil, but for large-scale production the soil layer should be at least 0.5 m deep, and the soil should be fertile, loose and well drained. The most suitable soil pH is 5.5—6.5. Sandy loam, red loam, kaolin soil and other flat or sloping land with good drainage and irrigation can all be used for planting, but it must never be planted in places that are waterlogged for long periods. For large-scale production it is best to plant in fertile, loose, well-drained ground; paddy fields that can be drained and irrigated are best. For the planting site, choose gently sloping land with good drainage; deep, fertile, loose sandy soil is more suitable.
2. Two months before planting, dig planting holes 0.6 m deep and 1.2 m long and wide at a certain spacing between plants and rows. Backfill the holes one month before planting and apply base fertilizer. Apply 20 kg of farmyard manure, 0.5 kg of calcium magnesium phosphate fertilizer and 1 kg of peanut bran per hole. The base fertilizer must be thoroughly mixed with the topsoil and returned to two-thirds of the depth of the hole.
Cultivation Methods for Passion Fruit
1. Growth characteristics: The most suitable growing temperature for passion fruit is 20-30°C. It generally grows well at temperatures not below 0°C; at -2°C the plant suffers severe damage or even dies. Areas with an average annual temperature above 18°C are most suitable for planting.
2. Seedling-raising technique: During the fruit ripening period, select fully ripe fruit that is large, juicy, thin-skinned and free of pests and diseases from superior mother plants. Take out the seeds, wash them clean and dry them in the shade to use as seedling material. Seeds raised in the same year have a high germination rate, reaching more than 95%. The seedling-raising period is generally from September to May of the following year.
3. Timely harvesting: Passion fruit planted in spring can flower in July of the same year and bear fruit in September. From the second year on, flowering begins every April, with 5-6 batches per year, each batch 20 days apart. It takes 60-70 days from flowering to fruit ripening, and the fruit harvest lasts more than 4 months. Generally, harvest 10 days before the fruit drops, when the fruit color turns purple (purple varieties), yellow (yellow varieties) or red (red varieties) and has a slight fragrance, but fresh fallen fruit can also be picked up from the ground.
Pest and Disease Control for Passion Fruit
1. Passion fruit has strong resistance to pests and diseases, and plants are only occasionally found infected. The main diseases are damping-off at the seedling stage, mosaic disease, phytophthora blight and stem base rot.
2. Control methods: Choose clean soil for raising seedlings, maintain field moisture, especially prevent the soil from becoming too wet, keep away from bananas, various melons and solanaceous vegetables, and promptly remove and burn diseased branches and leaves.
3. Chemical control: Use 0.5% Bordeaux mixture or phosethyl-Al, ridomil, 1000-fold kangkuiling solution, 800-fold 75% chlorothalonil solution, or 1000-fold 50% carbendazim wettable powder for control.
4. The main insect pests are fruit flies, mites, scale insects, etc. Use 800-fold 90% trichlorfon, 1000-fold Nongdile, 800-fold Lorsban, 2000-fold Manjisi solution, etc. for control.
Orchard Management for Passion Fruit
1. For newly planted passion fruit, nitrogen fertilizer is mainly used in the early stage to promote plant growth. The root system begins to grow 10-15 days after planting, when 0.5% dilute urea or dilute human urine and manure can be applied. After that, apply once every 20 days, with 5 kg of decomposed human urine and manure or 0.1 kg of compound fertilizer per plant each time.
2. Each year apply 20-30 kg of farmyard manure, 0.6-0.7 kg of urea, 0.6-0.9 kg of phosphate fertilizer and 1.2-1.3 kg of potash fertilizer per plant. After the farmyard manure and phosphate fertilizer are composted and decomposed, apply them in furrows around the beginning of spring. Apply urea and potash fertilizer once a month during the flowering and fruiting period, with 0.3-0.4 kg of mixed fertilizer per plant.
3. Passion fruit is a shallow-rooted plant that likes moisture and is both intolerant of waterlogging and afraid of drought. Therefore, first dig drainage ditches well to prevent waterlogging in the orchard; at the same time, spread weeds to retain water, and irrigate once when there is no soaking rain for 15 days. After clearing the orchard in winter, plow the whole orchard, and bury the cleared weeds and fallen branches and leaves while plowing. Then spread 25-30 kg of lime per mu.
The reason passion fruit is called "passion fruit" is that its juice gives off the fragrance of many fruits. Its benefits and nutrition are extremely high. Passion fruit is a natural sedative, can treat insomnia and relieve headaches, and is suitable for everyone to eat. So do you know about passion fruit now?