Productive Potential of Yellow Passion Fruit Applying Mineral and Organic Fertilization with Worm Compost

Abstract

The yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims) is a crop that requires large quantities of fertilizers, which mainly can be from organic or mineral source or combination of both. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the productivity and physical characteristics of fruits of yellow passion fruit n first and second crop cycle under mineral fertilization (NPK) associated with worm compost. The experiment was conducted on soil classified as Entisols Quartzipsamment in Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, with five treatments: 100% mineral fertilization, 75% mineral fertilization with 25% worm compost, 50% mineral fertilization with 50% worm compost, 25% mineral fertilization with 75% worm compost and 100% worm compost. The treatments were randomly distributed with block design with four replications. Productivity, average number of fruits per plant, average weight of fruits, equatorial and longitudinal diameters of the fruit, relationship between diameters and Brix° of the fruits for two years were evaluated. The use exclusive of organic fertilizer, without the mineral fertilization significantly reduces the productivity of yellow Passiflora. The organic fertilizer promoted a complementary effect on fruits mass and diameter during the first crop cycle.