Passion Fruit farming in kenya

Passsion fruit;            Passiflora edulis
Family Name:            Passifloraceae
Other name:               Granandilla

Passion farming is a highly lucrative enterprise with high and regular income.The crop is adaptable to a wide agro-ecological zone from low lands to the highlands.The demand for the fruit on both local and export market is still unmet.

INTRODUCTION

Passion fruit was introduced into Kenya in the 1920s for commercial juice processing. Passion fruit is native to the tropical regions of southern Brazil. Currently, however, large quantities /of passion fruits are eaten fresh locally and also exported. Kenya is a large supplier of fresh purple passion fruits to the European market followed by Brazil, Colombia, Zambia and Zimbabwe of which the United Kingdom is the largest importer. Other importers include Holland, France, United Arab Emirates, German and Belgium.  Passion fruitst are very rich in Vitamins A and C and carotene making it an important health food.

DESCRIPTION

It is perennial vigorous vine, which flowers and produces fruits within a year after establishment. The vine is shallow-rooted, woody, climbing by means of tendrils. The yellow variety has snowier intense colour. The fruits are oval or round shaped with rough waxy rind. The rind hue ranges from dark- purple with faint fine white specks to light yellow. The fruits contain flavorful juice that is sub acid to acid. The fruits are eaten fresh but the processors are the other commercial outle

Table 2: Passion Fruit Diseases and their Control:

Diseases	Pictorial Signs / Symptoms	Trade Name	Dosage	Pre-Harvest Interval(Days)
Fusarium wilt Fusarium oxysporium Causes wilting and death of plant. The vascular tissues show brown discoloration.		Use of yellow rootstock,
		Grafting height greater than 45 cm,
		Sterile potting media
Blight Phytophthora nicotianae.		Field hygiene
Appear as dark water soaked lesions on leaves. These later spread as infected tissues die. Young shoots also can be infected.
		Polyram	150g/1001	14 days
		Daconil	50g/201	7 days
Brown spot Alternaria passiflora		Thinning vines to promote air flow.
Attack leaves and fruits causing brown rings with dead spots .infection on leaves can extend to leaf axils and terms.
		Effective  fungicides eg
		Daconil/milraz,
		Antracol	50g/20L	7 days
		Ridomil
			50g/20L	14 days
			50g/20L	14 days
Woodiness virus .Is caused by a virus and symptoms include distortion of leaves and woodiness of fruits. Plants are stunted, yields are reduced and vines die.		Sterilization of pruning tools using Sodium hypochlorite (Jik) or Formaldehyde
		Vector control
		Elimination of weeds
Die back		Prune off infected branches and paste with copper based fungicides
Die backs may start at tip of branches or at the middle.
In its terminal phases, branches die back, bark and cortical dries up.

Pests:

Pest	Pictorial Signs / Symptoms	Control measures	Dosage	Pre - harvest interval (days)
Reds  spider mites Brevipalpus sp -Occur on lower leaf surface between the veins and cause leaves to dry.		Uprooting and burning infested plants. Keep the field free of weeds
		Mitac	100ml/100L	15 days
		Dynamec	10ml/20L	7 days
Mealy bugs Planacoccus kenyae. These are stationary oval shaped, pinkish in colour and covered with waxy thread.		Prune and destroy affected parts at the initial stage of infestation.
		Remove and destroy heavily infested plants
		Karate	20g/20L	3 days
Fruit fly Ceratitis sp		Decis
		Bestox,fastac,	30-50ml/20L	7 days
The fly lays eggs on fruit and causes sunken brown spots .white maggots are found inside the fruit.
		Karate	20g/20L	3 days
		Lebaycid	120ml/201	21 days
Aphids Aphis sp		Usually controlled by natural enemies.
		Use of broad-spectrum pesticides
Are green in colour and suck sap from tissues. They transmit viruses especially the woodiness virus.
		Decis	30-50ml/201	7 days
		Ripcord,sherpa,ambush	100m/201	7 days
		Karate	20g/201	3 days
		Bestox, fastac	30-50ml/20L	7 days
Thrips		Avoidance of successive planting of susceptible crops.
Attacked plant parts shrivel, flowers & young fruits fall prematurely. Lesions on fruits and distortion of leaves and young shoots		Recommended pesticides such as
		Actara	10g/20L	14 days
		Match	25m/20L	14 days
		Dimethoate	20m/20L	21 days
Stink bug		Hand pick and Kill
There are three types of stinkbugs observed in passion fruits in different areas.
Green vegetable bug-Nezara viridula ,Yellow edge stink bug-Nezara pallidocorspasa and Brown stink bug-Boerias maculata		Chemicals like decis
They feed by piercing and sucking young fruits.
Pierced areas appear sunken and lowers fruit quality
Nematodes		-Rotate with Cassava, Cereals, Sweet Potato, Onions, Cabbage and Kale.
Are soil inhabitants causing formation of galls or knots on roots, yellowing of leaves , stunting and eventual wilting of the affected plants		-Use of Yellow Passion which has tolerant to Nematode for rootstocks.
		-Use clean planting materials.
		-Field hygiene
		-Mocap	2g/hole at t/planting

Varieties

The most important variety in Kenya is the purple passion Fruit Passiflora edullis which is grafted on yellow passion Passiflora flavicarpa. Purple passion fruits have deep purple skin colour at maturity. The Yellow passion, Sweet passion, Banana passion, and Giant passion are also other varieties grown in Kenya.
 The main varieties are described below.

• Purple passion fruit
• Yellow passion fruit
• Sweet passion fruit
• Giant passion fruit
• Banana passion fruit

Description of various varieties

Purple Passion: (Passiflora edulis)
It is the most important in fruit juice industry and to a certain extent in fresh exports. It grows well in cooler temperatures at an elevation of between 1200m-1800m east of the rift and up to 2000m west of the rift. The fruit is round or oval, 4-6 cm diameter and changes its colour from green to deep purple when ripe. The flower is outstanding for both fresh and canned or frozen. Ripe fruits drop from the vines.
 Yellow Passion: - (Passiflora edulis var flavicarpa)
It is much more vigorous and better adopted to tropical lowland than purple passion fruit. The pulp is very aromatic but rather acidic. The average fruit is slightly larger than that of the purple and turns from green to yellow at maturity. Ripe fruits drop from vines. The variety is mainly used as rootstock for grafting purple variety, due to its resistance to soil borne pathogens.
Sweet Passion or Sweet granadilla: - (Passiflora ligularis)
It prefers cooler conditions for optimum and elevations of above 1500m. The fruit is of excellent flavor and turns from blue to orange-brown at the time of ripening. The whitish, aromatic pulp is enclosed in a hard shell, which can stand transportation without damage.
 Giant Passion or Granilla:- (Passiflora quadrangularis)
It requires tropical climate and grows best from sea  level upto 1700m.It grows to a length of 30m and fruits turn from green to yellow when mature. Fruits are eaten fresh and appearance resembles a vegetable marrow.
Banana Passion:- (Passiflora mollissima)
Grows at higher elevations, colder conditions above 1500mm above sea level. It also has an edible pulp.

Ecological Requirements:

Agro-ecological zones

Purple passion fruit does well in the upper midland to upper highland zones. Yellow passion fruits do well in the lower midland and lowland zones.

Altitude

The most suitable altitude for passion fruit production ranges from 1,200 - 2,000 Meters above Sea Level

Temperature

Optimum temperature for the production of purple and yellow passion fruit is between 18 °c to25°c and 25°c to 30° respectively.

 Rainfall

A well distributed rainfall of 900mm to 2000mm per year is suitable for passion fruit production. Excess rainfall causes poor fruit set and encourages diseases.

 Soils

Passion fruit plants will grow on a wide variety of soils, which should be reasonably deep and fertile. A soil pH range of 5.5 - 6.5 is best. In high rainfall areas, the soils should be well drained as plants will not withstand water logging or flooding for any considerable period.

 Suitable Growing Areas

Purple passion fruit can be grown in Thika, Kisii, Nyeri, Kiambu, Nakuru, Kakamega, Murang´a, Embu, Vihiga, Nyamira, Meru, Trans-nzoia, Bungoma, Siaya, Keiyo, Nandi and Uasin gishu.

Cultural Practices:

Good Agricultural Practices

 International regulations on food safety and social accountability in the production of fresh produce are becoming ever stricter. Consumers are becoming more and more particular about the quality, safety and reliability of the fresh products they buy. The main buying countries require the implementation of GAP. The GAP guidelines aim at producing a product that is safe, environment friendly and socially acceptable and of high quality. The following are the guidelines which are supposed to be implemented by the farmers and exporters.

• Keep up to date farm production records inorder to maintain consumer confidence in food quality and safety.
• Apply proper crop protection strategies in order to reduce the use chemicals.
• Observe the required standards during pesticide application in order to protect the health and safety of the sprayer.
• Observe the required standards during transportation, storage and disposal of pesticides in order to minimize detrimental impact on the environment while conserving nature and wildlife.
• Observe hygiene requirements during harvesting and postharvest handling of produce.
• Adhere to regulations of wages and employment act
• Adhere to environment protection regulations.

 Land preparation

Deep ploughing is encouraged to open up the soil for aeration and good water infiltration. Strict crop rotation should be practiced to avoid build up soil borne pests and diseases. Planting holes are dug 60cm x 60cm separating the top and sub-soils two months in advance.

 Spacing

The recommended spacing is 2m between rows and 3m within rows.

Transplanting

It is highly recommended to plant purple passion fruit grafted on yellow passion rootstocks. Transplanting of grafted propagules is done at the beginning of rainy season preferably early in the morning or late in the afternoon. The seedling is covered just up to the poly- tube level, ensuring that the roots are not folded by pruning back long roots. In drier areas, watering, mulching, and in some cases, shading of young plants is required immediately after transplanting.

Planting Materials

Clean -virus - free propagules are transplanted when about 60 cm high. Ensure you purchase grafted seedlings from certified seed dealers. Grafted seedlings have the following advantages;

• Tolerance to soil borne  diseases e.g Fusarium wilt
• Vigorous rooting system capable of efficient water and nutrient absorption
• Long crop economic life span
• Higher yields

Fertilizer Application

At planting mix the topsoil with at least a debe (16 kg) of Farm Yard Manure and 125 g of Double Superphosphate (46 % P2O5). Fill the hole with this mixture at least 3 weeks before transplanting. Planting should be done at the on set of long rains
 Top dressing is done in two splits. Apply 150 g of CAN per plant one month after transplanting and the next split at the beginning of the next rain season i.e 300gm of CAN per plant per year.
 Spraying with foliar feed and trace elements every three months is recommended.

Trellising

Passion fruit is trained on a trellis constructed from wire and posts. The posts should be 270cm long 15cm in diameter; These are firmed in 60cm - deep holes spaced  6m a part in the rows ,midway between the plants. All end posts must be supported by an anchor. A 10-12 gauge galvanized wire is fixed tightly to the top of each post in the row. Soon after transplanting, two healthy shoots above the graft union are trained up using sisal twines by twinning them regularly until they reach the wire at the top. All other shoots below the wire are removed regularly. After the trained shoots have reached the wire, the two trained shoots are wound carefully around the wire in opposite directions .While the shoots are growing along the wire, the secondary lateral shoots, which bear fruit, are left to hang downwards.

Pruning

Old shoots, which are unproductive and all dead wood must be removed as close to the main vine as possible to encourage the growth of new laterals. Secondary shoots reaching the soil level have to be cut off about 15 cm above the ground .Vines should grow vertically to avoid a thicket of shoots. Entangling tendrils should be removed regularly to allow light penetration and aeration and reduce pest and disease infestation.

Intercropping

During orchard establishment, intercropping with short-term annuals is possible .Suitable vegetable crops include spring onions and coriander but not beans as they harbor nematodes. Intercropping ensures maximum land utilization and also prevents soil erosion.
Crops for intercropping should be supplied with their own nutrition to avoid competing with Passion Fruits.
Cucurbits and other crops that are susceptible to Cucumber Mosaic Virus should NOT be any where near Passion Fruits orchard. These crops are hosts to viruses which cause woodiness virus in Passion Fruits.

Irrigation

It is very important to water the vine so as to keep it flowering and fruiting continuously. Lack of water may cause the flowers and fruits to shrivel and fall prematurely. During the dry season and in dry areas, the crop has to be irrigated for maximum yield and high quality fruits.

Maturity/ Harvesting

Harvesting of purple passion fruit starts in the eighth to twelfth month after transplanting .For the fresh market, fruits should be picked carefully when they change colour from green to purple, and  when the calyx has dried up ,leaving a short stalk attached. For processing, the fruits should preferably be allowed to drop on to clean mulch. During the rainy season they should be picked up every other day and kept in a cool place.
There are normally two harvesting peaks: July - August and December - January
 Below are some points to consider.

• The stalk should be cut short at harvest to prevent damage to other fruit
• Carefully observe and follow the pre-harvest interval (PHI) of any pesticide used
• Collect all fallen fruit daily in the morning to avoid sun scorching
• Harvest into plastic buckets preferably in the early morning between 9 am and 11 am or as soon as the fruit is dry
• Do not bruise fruit by throwing into the bucket - place it gently into the container
• Dry any wet fruit as soon as possible by air drying in a shaded place.

 Yields

Average yields of 25t/ha [10/acre] are attainable.

Post harvest handling

After harvesting, fruits should be placed in clean plastic or wooden containers and handled carefully to avoid bruising. Ensure to maintain cold chain delivery to collection center/ pack house

Pack house / Collection center Operations

Sorting

All field debris, diseased, damaged, immature, and over - mature fruits should be removed.

Cleaning

Use a clean dump cloth to wipe off any dirt on the fruits, taking care not to damage the skin by rubbing.

Grading

Fruits of good quality are graded according to size, color, and appearance.

Pre-cooling

Passion fruits destined for far markets should be cooled immediately after harvest to 5°c to 7°c. Forced air - cooling is recommended.

Packing

Packing is done in a single or double layer fiberboard cartons or trays, weighing between 2 and 5kg with an average of 46 to 48 fruits per box.

Storage

Fresh produce should not be stored for more than 24 hours. However, a storage temperature of 5 to 7°C and a relative humidity of 85% - 90% should maintain the fruit in good condition for three to five weeks.

Transportation

Boxes must be packed firmly to prevent fruit friction and damage during transportation. The trucks should be covered and well ventilated.

Marketing and Market Outlets:

Both local and export markets for fresh purple passion fruit are undersupplied. There are many small and medium-sized companies and processors buying passion fruit for making juice.
Contact addresses for exporters and processors are given at the appendix.
Purple passion fruit are sold as export fruit and exporters are able to advice on the standards of fruit required. They generally need large, unblemished fruit, clean with uniform purple/green colour. They should have no signs of pesticide residues and be smooth skinned with no wrinkles.
Local and Ugandan market requirements are more flexible.
It is important for small scale producers to form production and marketing associations so as to access reliable buyers and have strong bargaining power.
Value addition at small scale level is also encouraged targeting supermarkets, hotels and other public gatherings.

Passion Fruit Exporters:

List of Passion Fruit Exporters:

NAME	ADDRESS	EMAIL ADDRESS	CONTACT
Kenya Fresh Produce Exporters	P.O. Box 16845-00620 Nairobi	info@kenyafresh.co.ke	Tel: 254 20826267/8 Fax: 254 20826268
Kenya Horticultural Exporters (l977)	P.O. Box 11097- 00400 Nairobi	khe@khekenya.com info@khekenya.com	Tel: 254 20650300-1 Fax: 254 20650303
Africa Fresh Produce Investment	P.O Box 54964- 00200 Nairobi	info@africafreshproduce.com	Tel : 020 2077030
Al Haq Trading Enterprices ltd	P.O Box 87445 Mombasa	alhaqenter@hotmail.com	Tel: 041 2228073
Benvar Estates Limited	P.O Box 53-00621 Nairobi, Kenya	info@bcf.co.ke	Tel: 254-67-26002/25037, 254-20-827009
Fresco ProduceLtd	P.O Box 1702-00200 Nairobi	finance@frescoproduce.co.ke	Tel: 254 202044375, Fax: 254 202044374 Mob: 254 0722 764395,0733773807
Sunny Fields Ltd	P.O. Box 7264-00200 Nairobi		Tel:0722727930, 0734675008 Fax:22709/352266
Sunripe (1976) Ltd	P.O. Box 41852-00100 Nairobi	info@sunripe.co.ke	Tel: 020- 822518/822879 Fax: 020-822709/3542266
Wilham (k) ltd	P.O. Box 49125. Nairobi	operations@eaga.co.ke	Tel: 02822017/822025 Fax: 20 822155
Canken	P.O Box  9333 -30100 Eldoret	canken@cankencargo.com	Tel. 0532026652

Passion Fruit Processors:

List of Processors:

COMPANY	ADDRESS	EMAIL ADDRESS	CONTACT
Trufoods Ltd and Kabazi Canners	P.O. Box 41521- 00100, Jogoo Road Nairobi, Kenya		Tel. +254 20 - 557700 Fax. +254 20 - 545791
Milly Fruit Processors Ltd	P. O. Box: 90522, Mombasa, Kenya.	fruits@millygroup.com	Tel. 254 41 5485551 Fax 254 41 5485480,
Premier Food Industries Ltd	P.O. Box 41476, Nairobi-00100 Kenya.	pfil@peptang.com	Tel. 254(20) 8562607 254(20) 8561714 254(20) 8561919 Fax. 254 (20)8562842
Del Monte (K) Ltd	Po Box 147- 01000 Oloitiptip Rd Thika, Kenya	nanasi@delmonte.co.ke	Tel. 254 6721601 Fax. 254 6721414 254 6731424
Frigoken	P O Box 30500, Nairobi GPO 00100, Nairobi, Kenya.	frigoken@frigoken.com	Tel. +254 20 8560096 / 8560449 / 8561137 Fax.+254 (0)20 8560098
Kevian Kenya Ltd	P.O. Box 25290	Stercraft@keviankenya.com	Tel. +254.20567247 Fax. +254.20566225
Kevian		info@keviankenya.com	Tel. 020-239040 Mob.0722398802