Phytoregulator in the increase of productivity of yellow passion fruit
Growth regulator, Passiflora, Plant architecture, Shoot Morfology
In Brazil, passion fruit cultivation is reported from indigenous tribes to the present day. With a rich diversity of species and varieties, the Passiflora botanical genus, of the Passifloraceae family, is spontaneously present throughout Tropical America with indicators pointing to the existence of more than 400 species and placing Brazil as one of the main centers of genus origin, with about 150 species of which 70 have fruits with industrial value and for fresh consumption. Passion fruit is a herbaceous plant of the climbing type, with the stem formed by several internodes and from the nodes the tendrils and leaves appear. Two buds form in the axilla of the leaves: a reproductive one (originating a flower and later the fruits) and another reproductive (originating new productive branches). In Brazil the genus finds excellent conditions for production, it is estimated that 80% of world production comes from Brazil, being exported to other countries in the form of fruit or frozen concentrated juice. The use of plant regulators is one of the agronomic strategies for manipulating the architecture of plants, which can contribute to increased productivity. The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of different growth regulators on the culture of passion fruit (Passiflora edulis), aiming to reduce the average length and changing the architecture of the plant in order to give a greater number of nodes per linear meter of branch and consequently an increase in the number of reproductive structures and new vegetative shoots formed, thus enabling an increase in crop productivity, without changing the planting spacing. The experimental design used will be completely randomized (DIC) with the yellow passion fruit cultivar (FB 300 - ARAGUARI), with 6 treatments and 4 repetitions: T1: control; T2: MEPIQUATE 0.1% v / v chloride; T3: MEPIQUATE 0.15% v / v chloride; T4: 0.2% v / v MEPIQUATE chloride; T5: Trinexapac-ethyl 0.5% v / v; T6: Calcium prohexadione + 0.5% v / v ETEFON. The experiment was carried out in the horticulture sector of the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ), in a conduction system in a vertical spreader with a wire.