Germination and growth of purple passion fruit seedlings under pre-germination treatments and mycorrhizal inoculation

Abstract

The cultivation of purple passion fruit plants has increased in Colombia, as a direct result of its well-accepted consumption. Therefore, there is a need for technological solutions aimed at the sustainable growth of its fruit, such as improving seed germination and decreasing phosphorus (P) deficiencies, given its low availability in tropical soils. This study aimed to evaluate pre-germination treatments (control, apical and basal seed cuts, alternation of temperature, photoperiod, application of gibberellic acid and immersion in 96 % of H₂SO₄) and mycorrhizal dependency of purple passion fruit plants, using three levels of P in the soil solution (0.002 mg L^-1, 0.02 mg L^-1 and 0.2 mg L^-1), in 35 combinations with or without the inoculation of the Glomus fasciculatum mycorrhizal fungus. A completely randomized design with five replications per treatment was used. The treatment with the most significant effect for reducing the dormancy of the purple passion fruit seeds is the immersion in 96 % of H₂SO₄ for 20 minutes. This species shows a high mycorrhizal dependency, when coupled with 0.02 mg L^-1 of P in the soil solution.