Evaluación de las relaciones fenotípicas y potencial agronómico de siete cultivares de maracuyá (passiflora edulis l.)

Abstract

The family Passifloraceae Juss. Ex Rousel contains about 17 to 25 genera, where Passiflora L. is one of the most numerous and economically important, grouping approximately 575 species, whose number is constantly growing over time. The name passion fruit comes from indigenous peoples in Brazil who called it "maraú-ya", derived from the fruit "marahu" which comes from "ma-râ-ú" which means "thing that is eaten by sipping" the conquerors changed its name to what is now known as "maracujá" (Portuguese) or "maracuyá" (Spanish) belonging to the family Passifloraceae. The genus Passiflora presents a significant importance of the Passifloraceae family with more than 500 species. Its center of origin is in the Amazon region of Brazil because it has the greatest diversity of more than 150 native species of the family Passifloraceae, it is also currently cultivated in four continents. Among its main producers are Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Peru with approximately 640,000 t/year. The crop was also spread to the regions of Australia, then to Hawaii; at present it is planted in New Guinea, Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Peru, among others. In the cultivation of passion fruit there are two varieties: Passiflora edulis (purple variety) and Passiflora edulis var. Flavicarpa (yellow variety). Passiflora edulis is classified into two varieties: Passiflora edulis Sims, which grows best in a semi-warm climate and at higher altitudes above sea level; and Passiflora edulis Sims. F. flavicarpa Degener grows in warm climates and at altitudes up to 1000 meters above sea level. It is a climbing plant, woody, perennial, its branches can reach up to twenty meters long, has axillary tendrils that are wound in a spiral manner; its leaves and stems are green, the petioles are marked at the top. Genetic diversity is based on the characterization of morphological descriptors, isoenzymatic or molecular markers, where most of the genes used for improvement are in wild species, since genetic variability is one of the strategies for survival under natural conditions. The preservation of the genes and the characteristics obtained allows plant breeders to have a better knowledge of crosses to obtain a genetic transgression. Within the Ecuadorian territory, the yellow variety is the most cultivated because of its greater resistance to nematodes and parasites and higher yields, unlike the purple variety. The variables evaluated were carried out in the field for the characterization of the seven cultivars, taking into account quantitative and qualitative descriptors, where the time of each crop cycle is considered, the data are collected in a notebook and then tabulated in a database. The morphoagronomic characterization was carried out from the phenological phases, morphology of the plant, root, stem, leaves, flowers and fruit. The morphological characteristics help us to know the identification of the species, on the other hand, the characterization in wild species is based on homogeneity and variability which are evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively.