Field performance and phenotypic variation of Passiflora incarnata L. in New York state

Abstract

Passiflora incarnata L., a perennial vine native to southeastern North America, bears fruit containing an edible juice. I observed the growth, flowering, fruit yield, and fruit traits of P. incarnata plants grown in the field for one season in Ithaca, N.Y. Plants flowered throughout the summer and were pollinated by carpenter bees, but fruit set was low without additional hand-pollination. Fruits set before mid-August matured in 52 to 113 days, but fruits set after mid-August usually failed to mature. Following hand-pollination of some flowers, plants matured 0 to 14 fruits, and yield of edible juice was 5 to 10 mL per fruit. Vegetative growth, plant architecture, number of flowers produced, number of fruits matured, days from flower opening to fruit maturity, fruit size, the proportion of fruits filled with juice and seeds, and the size of juice-containing arils all varied greatly among plants. Part of this variation was probably genetic.