Passion Fruit




Botanical name;  Passiflora edulis sims.

Local Names; Wel Dodam; Sinhala             Kodiththodai; Tamil

Recommended varieties

  • Yellow cultivar (Low country)
  • Purple cultivars (Up country)
  • Australian Varieties (Under tests)

Major growing areas

  • Colombo, Kalutara

Nature of Cultivation

  • Small and medium scale orchards and home gardens

Nutritional Value (Per 100 g edible portion)

Nutrient composition of the passion fruit is presented in Table.



Passion fruit is fair to good source of pro-vitamin A, ascorbic acid, riboflavin and niacin with also a high mineral content.  Apart from its unique flavour (brix value range of 12-20) the comparative high acid content of the juice (2.4-%) is its most discouraging characteristic in processing and development of value added products

However, this nutritional information may vary depending on variety, climatic conditions, and nutrients available for growth of Passion fruit etc. 
Passion Fruit - Red colour peel
Medicinal Value/Uses

  • Ripe fruit is increase urine acidity and thereby facilitate body metabolism

Fruiting Season in Sri Lanka: March - August



Why are they unique? 


The edible commercial species of Passion fruit originated on the edges of South American rain forests in the Amazon region of Brazil and possibly in Paraguay and North Argentina. The purple passion fruit (passiflora edulis), is adapted to the coolest subtropics or to high altitudes in the tropics, while the golden passion fruit (p.edulis f. flavicarpa) is more suited to tropical lowland conditions.  Passion fruit became naturalized in most of the tropical and subtropical world covering South Africa, Hawaii, California and Florida by the end of the nineteenth century. Kenya, Sri Lanka and Fiji were naturalized with the crop by about the middle of the 20th century. In Europe, in the 17th century it was grown as an ornamental plant under glass house conditions for its attractive flowers. 

In Sri Lanka too, both purple and yellow passion fruits are grown commercially. 'Rahangala hybrid', which is a cross between P.edulis and p.edulis f. flavicarpa is recommended to be grown in the cooler regions. Yellow variety is recommended for the low country. However in the dry zone and in the intermediate zone yellow variety could be grown with supplementary irrigation. 'Hawaiian Black' which is an introduction from Australia, was evaluated under low country wet zone conditions and was later released by the Dept. of Agriculture as variety "Mani". Other introductions such as Victorian Black, E23 and Laecy evaluated under low temperature climates did not perform as well as the locally bred Rahangala Hybrid. In Sri Lanka, 10 species of Passiflora have been reported. These include P.quadrangularis, P.vanoloxemii, P.caerulea, P.edulis, P.flavicarpa, P.mollisima, P.ligularis, P.trifasciata. Two weed species of P.foetida & P.suberosa have been identified.
Passion fruit value added product - Gateau cake
Potential for Passion fruit processing industry

Passion fruit processing industry in Sri Lanka is still not properly developed. Fresh fruits are cut in half and the succulent pulp is scooped out with a spoon for mixing with other fruits in making a salad. The extracted juice is a tasty drink. The beauty of passion fruit is that just a little pulp goes a long way. The cake icing, candy ice cream, jelly, mousses, sauces, sherbets, syrups and pies are some of the value added products made out of the fruit Tender leaves of passion fruit is also consumed as a leafy vegetable. Seed of both forms of passion fruit give about 23% oil similar in properties to either sunflower or Soya bean oil and is used for domestic and industrial purposes. A cyanogenic glycoside is found in the pulp of all passion fruit but is only at an insignificant level in the ripened fruit. The glycoside passinorine can also be extracted from the dried leaves.
Passion fruit juice

Reference

  • Tropical fruits of Sri Lanka, Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka


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