VEGETATIVE FEATURES OF COMBINATIONS SCION/ROOTSTOCK IN PASSION FRUIT PLANT

The passion fruit plant has stood out among the main fruit tree of the country, however, its life has been reduced mainly due to damage caused by root diseases, and the graft with native species and disease-resistant can solve the problem. So this research aimed to evaluate the grafted vegetative performance of scion varieties and rootstock species combinations of passion fruit plant. The study was developed in screenhouse (50% shaded) at Acre Embrapa, Rio Branco, between September and December in 2007. The seven varieties studied were the yellow passion fruit 'FB 100' and 'FB 200' from Flora Brazil (Araguari, MG) nursery, UFAC 07, 25, 38, 64 and 70 (Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco-AC), and the rootstocks were Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (Cuiaba-MT), P alata, P edulis and P. quadrangularis (Guiratinga-MT), P. serrato-digitata (IAC-Campinas/SP). The experimental design was randomized blocks, with 12 repetitions. The treatments were 35 combinations scion/rootstock consisting of 5 rootstocks combined with 7 scions. The grafting method used was the cleft at the top hypocotyledonary, and the rootstocks had the following characteristics: three true leaves and seedling height variable (6 to 8 cm), 30 to 90 days after sowing. During the research, the height of the plants, their diameter, the numbers of leaves and internodes as value of the plant development were evaluated. The best vegetative development combinations for the diameter and number of internodes were 'FB 100' and 'FB 200' on P. edulis and P alata, UFAC 07 on P serrato-digitata, and P quadrangularis UFAC 38 on P.edulis. But the best vegetative development combinations for the height of the plants and number of leaves were 'FB 100' and 'FB 200' on P edulis and P alata as well as, FB 100 and FB 200 on P serrato-digitata, UFAC 38 on P alata for plants diameter and number of leaves.