Passion Fruit Growing Techniques: How to Plant and Manage It?

Passion fruit is also called egg fruit. It is a nutritious fruit with a sweet and tart taste, and many young men and women like it. Its price on the market is currently still relatively high, and its growing prospects are also fairly promising. So what are the growing techniques for passion fruit?

1. Site Selection for Planting

Passion fruit is a tropical and subtropical fruit. When planting, choose flat fields, which makes hole cultivation convenient. It can also be planted on slopes with level bench planting. Before planting, make the bed surface at least 1 m wide and with a 5-degree slope. It is best to choose fertile, loose sandy loam with good drainage and a deep soil layer.

2. Planting

After preparing the soil, sow passion fruit seeds to raise seedlings, then cover with 1.5 to 2 cm of soil. Once the seedlings grow to more than 25 cm, they can be transplanted and set out. Plots with irrigation conditions can be planted a little earlier. If the plot lacks water, it is best to plant in May or June when the rainy season begins. For planting before the rainy season begins, because the weather is dry, water once every 10 to 15 days to keep the soil moist.

3. Trellising

Passion fruit is a vine plant with fairly strong branching. If it is not trellised, the stems, leaves, and base will become tangled together, blocking airflow and affecting normal growth. Therefore, passion fruit needs a trellis. The height of the trellis should be controlled at about 1.5 to 2 m. You can choose a horizontal trellis, slanted trellis, A-frame trellis, and so on. After the trellis is completed, use bamboo poles to guide the main vine slowly up onto the trellis.

4. Pruning

Passion fruit needs pruning to maintain light penetration and ventilation, which allows it to grow better. After the trellis is completed, use bamboo poles to guide the main vine slowly onto the trellis. After it climbs the trellis and grows side buds, pay attention to pruning. Keeping 3 to 4 side buds is enough. If the branches and leaves are too dense, also pay attention to pruning. When the last batch of fruit matures and is harvested in winter, all fruit-bearing branches and leaves should be heavily pruned back from the base.

5. Growing Environment

1. Water: Passion fruit is a shallow-rooted plant and is fairly sensitive to water. It fears both drought and waterlogging. If there is too little water, the stems will become thinner and the leaves will turn yellow. If there is too much water, root rot will occur. Therefore, when watering passion fruit, pay attention to drainage and just keep the soil moist.

2. Temperature: Passion fruit likes a warm environment. Warm temperatures allow passion fruit to grow better.

3. Light: Passion fruit is a tropical fruit and likes sunlight very much. Sufficient light helps promote vine growth and lets passion fruit bear fruit faster and better.

6. Fertilizing

Passion fruit likes fertile soil, so base fertilizer should be applied when planting. Before passion fruit bears fruit each month, fertilization is mainly nitrogen-based, applied once a month. Mature passion fruit can be fertilized from February to March, mainly with farmyard manure and phosphate fertilizer.

7. Pest and Disease Control

If passion fruit develops damping-off disease at the seedling stage, you can use 800-times dilution of Cudao Likuling or 800-1000-times dilution of Miaojundi; if Phytophthora blight occurs, you can use 1000-2000-times dilution of Shigao or 600-800-times dilution of propineb. If leafminers are found, you can spray 2500-3000-times dilution of Banqianhuang or 6000-10000-times dilution of abamectin to control the insects.

Planting and managing passion fruit are not complicated. It is a relatively easy plant to cultivate. At present, passion fruit sales are very good, and supply often falls short of demand, so its prospects are very promising.