Among the factors that contribute to better initial development of plants, it is the substrate used. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of substrate in initial formation and morphology of the roots of two species of passion fruits. The analyses were done in the nursery of the Federal University of Goiás (UFG), Regional Jataí, Brazil, with a light interception of 60%. The material used were seeds of yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) and the cultivar FB 200 (Flora Brasil), harvested in the UFG experimental field. They were sown in three types of substrates: Soil I (mixture of soil, chicken manure and sand in a ratio of 2:1:1 by volume), soil II (steep bank), and Bioplant®, using for plants perforated bags with a capacity of 1.5 L. The experimental design was a completely randomized design with six treatments, eight replications and four plants per plot. After 30 days of sowing, fresh matter of root, root dry matter and morphology were evaluated. The substrate affected the initial development of yellow passion fruit, obtaining the best results with Bioplant®, showing as promising for the development of all the evaluated characteristics.

The guava (Psidium guajava L., Myrtaceae) is originates of Tropical America and is distributed throughout the Brazilian territory. The seedling production stage is very important because seedlings of higher quality have a direct influence on success and final production. Therefore, it is necessary to use substrates with good nutritional quality to supply the nutrient demand of the crop. In this way, the objective of this study was to evaluate the germination of 'Cortibel' guava seeds and initial development of the plants in different substrates. The seeds were obtained in physiologically mature fruits and sown in 1.5 L bags with two types of substrate (sand and commercial substrate Bioplant ®). The design was completely randomized, two substrates were the treatments with nine replicates and each repetition with five bags, totaling 45 experimental units for each treatment. Germination was monitored for 129 days. The characteristics of plant height, stem diameter and number of leaves were evaluated. The substrate sand provided a higher germination rate in relation to the Bioplant ® substrate, however, the use of commercial substratum presented a higher initial development, with higher values of plant height and stem diameter, which is indicated for the production of seedlings of guava 'Cortibel' by seeds due to the presence of nutrients in its composition.

Brazil is considered the world’s largest passion fruit producer, which benefits the entire crop chain of production and generates demand for production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the growth, thermal requirements and leaf morphological aspects of passion fruit species. The experiment was conducted at the Federal University of Goias (UFG)- Jataí, evaluating the following characteristics: leaf area, chlorophyll content (TCC) and thermal accumulation, being expressed in days after planting. To determine the total chlorophyll content, assessments were made in the middle third of the leaf blade, evaluating the accumulation of thermal units until flowering, from the average temperatures of the region. The daily temperature data were obtained from the meteorological station of the UFG - Jataí (17º53’08” S and 51º40’12” O). The cultivar FB 200 and Maracujazeiro-azedo presented higher leaf area, having the last one higher chlorophyll content in leaves and FB 200 presented lower demand in thermal units accumulation, proving its precocity.