American Journal of Plant Sciences, 2013, 4, 1066-1073 http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/ajps.2013.45132 Published Online May 2013 (http://www.scirp.org/journal/ajps) Fruit Setting Behaviour of Passion Fruit Mira Rani Das 1* , Tofazzal Hossain 2 , M. A. Baset Mia 2 , J. U. Ahmed 2 , A. J. M. Sirajul Karim 3 , M. Mofazzal Hossain 4 1 Agriculture Training Institute, Gazipur, Bangladesh; 2 Department of Crop Botany, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agri- cultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh; 3 Department of Soil Science, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural Uni- versity, Gazipur, Bangladesh; 4 Department of Horticulture, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Gazipur, Bangladesh. Email: * mira_ati@yahoo.com Received March 3 rd , 2013; revised April 5 th , 2013; accepted May 15 th , 2013 Copyright © 2013 Mira Rani Das et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. ABSTRACT Passion fruit has great prospective to fascinate fruit consumer for its taste and delicious fruit juice and improvement of the economic condition of the fruit grower in the developing countries. The self-incompatibility in the passion fruits is an imperative reason to be considered regarding fruit production. Pollination is an essential for self-sterile crops as passion fruit (Passiflora edulis Sims.). The experiment was conducted in the field and laboratories of the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University, Salna, Gazipur, Bangladesh to investigate the fruit setting behavior of passion fruits at during five flashes. We estimated to study fruit setting behavior of passion fruit at different flashes and determine effective pollination method and suitable flashes among five flashes. Result revealed that percent of fruit set of passion fruit was recorded highest; Seeds per plant were recorded highest in third flash when flowers were pollinated by hand compared with self-, and natural pollinations. Length-breadth ratios of fruits in third flashes were recorded higher when pollinates by hand. Individual fruit weight was also recorded higher at third flash. Plants required minimum days from flower anthesis to full maturity during third flash. On the other hand, fruit growth behavior of hand pollinated flowers was recorded higher during third flash of passion fruit. Results indicated that all studied characteris- tics of fruit and seed of passion fruit of third flash performed best. Keywords: Passion Fruit; Fruit Setting; Flash; Pollination 1. Introduction The passion fruit belongs to family passionflowers is an allogamous species [1]. In Passiflora genus contain more than 450 species but 12 species are cultivated. Only one species is Passiflora edulis Sims that grown as perennial, possess large flowers, and are cross-pollinated and vastly commercialized fruits [2]. It largely distributed around the tropics and warm humid subtropics [3-5]. It is an agronomically important delicious fruits [6] and culti- vated for its ornamental, medicinal and nutritive charac- teristics [7]. Purple and yellow passion fruits are com- monly cultivated in northern region of India [8]. Passion fruit has hermaphrodite, solitary flowers, lo- cated in the leaf axils. There are usually five stamens and ovary is borne over the androgynophore. There are three styles united at base, and at the top of style there are three bifurcated stigmas [9]. Passion fruits are protan- drous as anther dehiscence before stigma becomes recep- tive and stigma remains receptive from time of flower opening to closing. Rhythmic movement of the style of passion flower has been shown self-incompatibility be- cause of the style is in upright position and it starts curv- ing in due course of time. Due to it floral morphology yellow passion fruit is an allogamous plant and self-in- compatibility of sporophytic type [10] and cultivated for its edible fruits [11]. Self-incompatibility is an important factor for passion fruit production [12]. Pollination is important for fruit production on passion vines and extent of fruit set is dependent on effective pollination. Many yellow passion fruits do not set fruit unless their flowers are dusted with pollen from a differ- ent vine that is genetically compatible. Hand pollination is the easiest way to ensure fruit production. Hand polli- nation increases fruit yield in passion fruit. Artificial pol- lination is necessary in passion fruit because of its floral morphology where the anthers placed bellow the stigma. * Corresponding author. Copyright © 2013 SciRes. AJPS