Status and Prospects of Passion Fruit Cultivation in Kerala

Passion fruit, a native of tropical America (Brazil), belonging to the family Passifloraceae is a high value and export oriented crop. Passion fruit stands out not only for its exotic and unique flavor and aroma but also for its amazing nutritional and medicinal properties. The name "passion fruit" is not derived from any aphrodisiac quality of the fruit but was named, reportedly, by Spanish Catholic missionaries who saw in the flower, the symbolism of the Passion of Christ where "Passus" means "suffering" and "Flos" means "flower". Passion fruit should more correctly be referred to as the passion flower fruit, but the trade more commonly uses passion fruit. Passion fruit is known in Hawaii as lilikoi, golden passion fruit in Australia, maracuja peroba in Brazil, and yellow granadilla in South Africa. Most of the species of Passiflora are native to the warmer moist regions of America, and many produce edible fruit. Passion fruit is a perennial, vigorous, climbing, woody vine that produces an edible round or ovoid fruit and has a tough, smooth, waxy dark purple hued rind with faint, fine white specks. Inside, the fruit is more or less filled with an aromatic mass of double-walled, membranous sacs containing orange colored pulpy juice and as many as 250 small, hard, dark brown to black pitted seeds. Its fruits are rich in mineral salts and vitamins, especially A and C, and its juice has a wonderful aroma and flavor. It has many pharmacological properties. Passion fruit is used primarily for fresh consumption and the production of juice. It has become increasingly popular all over the world and it is used in jams, jellies, and fruit juices.