Sistemas de poda na cultura do maracujazeiro-azedo e sua influência sob características produtivas e de qualidade de fruto

Abstract

Passion fruit Passiflora edulis is a fruitful crop that can show differentiated responses compared to other crops when good orchard management techniques as pruning, for instance, is applied, making the crop respond in different ways depending on the intensity of application. In this context, the goal of this work was to evaluate the influence of different training systems on fruit production and quality as a function of the diverse pruning techniques of productive branches. The work was carried out in the fruit orchard of the Federal University of Fronteira Sul - campus Chapecó - SC, between August 2015 and May 2016. Plants were spaced 5x3 meters apart (666 plants.ha-1) and the work carried out in the first productive year of plants. A completely randomized experimental design was used having three different pruning systems as treatments: “pente alternada”, short pruning and control, which corresponded to plants without pruning. Four replicates were used for each treatment, and each replicate was composed of four plants. The variables were assessed as to production, chemical/physical quality of the fruits and the commercial classification within each treatment. The data were submitted to an analysis of variance, and when significant differences were encountered, the means were compared using the Duncan test at a 5% confidence level. The prunings exerted influence over the productive characteristics of plants, but did not influence the fruit size. Some variables related to the fruit quality were influenced by the prunings as the total soluble solids and peel thickness. All treatments obtained greater number of fruits with higher caliber, but we found no statistical difference when the categories among the treatments were analyzed. The “pente alternada” pruning can be considered an orchard management practice that allows the improvement of the plant’s growing conditions without having loss of productivity.