BREEDING PASSION FRUIT POPULATIONS - REVIEW AND PERSPECTIVES

Abstract

Passion fruit tree belongs to the family Passifloraceae. The genus Passiflora is considered of great economic value, and the main species cultivated is Passiflora edulis Sims. Brazil is the largest world producer of passion fruit, with annual production of around 823 thousand tons. In order to meet the demand for fruits from both domestic and international markets, as well as from the fresh consumption market and industry, the genetic breeding of this species has proved to be the major connection between farmers and the consumer market. Therefore, the Universidade Estadual do Norte Fluminense Darcy Ribeiro has been developing a passion fruit breeding program since 2002 and has recently launched a new variety – UENF Rio Dourado – which is already available to farmers. Aiming to overcome all obstacles for cultivation, the passion fruit genetic breeding program carried out by the UENF seeks to obtain the genetic progress of the crop and
provide new cultivars even more productive and more resistant to the main pathogens of this species. Thus, this work aims to carry out a survey on the breeding of the crop and report future prospects made possible by the introduction of new techniques into the sour passion fruit breeding program.