Vol. 18 No. 1
Germination studies in passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) hybrids
Author(s): A. V. Joseph and A. Sobhana
Abstract: Passion fruit is a perennial woody vine with axillary tendrils, belonging to the family Passifloraceae comprising of around 500 species. Passion fruit is valued for its fruit juice with excellent aroma, which is a good source of vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. There are mainly two types of passion fruit under cultivation. They are the yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Degener) and the purple passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. edulis Sims). Germination studies conducted will give inference on the vigour of hybrid seedlings, which will help in finding out superior seedlings. The selfed progeny and hybrids were evaluated for germination characteristic like seed germination per cent, seedling height, seedling vigour index etc. In the present study, hybrids like H6 (P6 x P2) with highest values for seed germination per cent (90.12 %), seedling vigour index (15.09) and comparatively higher leaf area (170.83 cm2), seedling height (16.83 cm) and seedling girth (0.80 cm) as well as hybrid H4 (P5 x P4) with highest values for leaf area (181.17 cm2), and seedling height (18.00 cm) can be considered superior in seedling characters.