yellow passions fruits

Sweet yellow passions fruits are perennial plants and the vine has a lifespan of about 5-7 years. Passion fruit grows best at an altitude of 1200-2000 meters above sea level, and at a soil PH of 5.5 to 7. During the growth period the farmer performs maintenance practices such as weeding, spraying with pesticides, and fungicides among others as he waits for harvest. One carefully tended sweet yellow passion fruit vine will grow to a length of over 20 meters, after the first 4-5 months of transplanting. Yields of 30 kg of fruit per vine/year can be achieved. Vigorous growth of passion is the key to achieving high yields. One acre can accommodate over 670 plants and each vine can yields 30 kg of fruit. One kilo goes for Ksh 50-80/= which means that a farmer can earn 670 x 30 x 50= Ksh. 1,005,000 per acre in one year. Secondly the plant grows a deep root system making it resistant to effects of low soil moisture. Moreover passion fruit juice is wonderful and in high demand  locally in Kenya and therefore the market is good.
 

juice made locally

Propagation of sweet yellow passion fruits: The vine is propagated through seed, cuttings and grafting. A seedling is ready for transplanting once the vine attains a height of 15-30 cm after 3-4 months. One full grown passion vine has the ability to produce up to 50 kg of fruits per year if it is supplied with the correct nutrients during the transplanting stage. Soil testing is recommended for specific soil nutrition recommendations. Otherwise the general recommendations are digging square holes of a width of 1 m and a depth of 1 meter and separating top soil from sub soil. The top soil is thoroughly mixed with 1- 2 wheelbarrows of well rotted manure, 125 grams a  compound fertilizer and afterwards filled back to the hole. After this; the seedling is transplanted into the pre-filled hole. This is a tedious process but it is the key to high yields and profit. When the vine is supplied with adequate manure, and fertilizer, passion fruit grows resistant to pests such as nematodes and other diseases. This strategy ensures that hard pans which limit room for roots expansion to facilitate deep root system development.

Husbandry practices of passion plant: The crop has a slow growth during the first 5 months of its life cycle therefore regular weeding is needed for vigorous growth. Injury to the plant during weeding should be avoided as bacteria and fungi will get entry to the plant through the wounds. Once the vine has been transplanted, 4 laterals grow from the main vine. Sometimes they may fail to grow, force them by pinching the shoot tip. The laterals are trellised on a 14 gauge galvanized wire stretched along the tops of posts whose diameter is 18 cm, 3 meter long and its base buried to a depth of 50-80 cm. Inter-row spacing of the vines should be maintained at 2 meters while intra row spacing should be 3 meters. This gives a plant population of about 670 per acre

Harvesting passion: Fruits drop to the ground when fully mature and are collected every second day. At this stage, they are shriveled which is the best condition for manufacturing. For the fresh market, the fruits are harvested when ripe just before shriveling. Growing sweet yellow passion plant/vine is a good economic opportunity in Kenya.