Production and postharvest quality of sour passion fruit under deficit irrigation strategies and foliar application of ascorbic acid

ABSTRACT The objective this study was to evaluate the effects of foliar application of ascorbic acid – AsA on the production and postharvest quality of sour passion fruit under deficit irrigation strategies. The experimental design was randomised blocks, in a split‐plot scheme, with plots consisting of six strategies of irrigation with water deficit, based on crop evapotranspiration – ETc (irrigation with 100% ETc during the entire cycle – S1; irrigation with 50% ETc in the different stages: vegetative – S2; flowering – S3; fruiting – S4; and successively in the vegetative/flowering stages – S5; and vegetative/fruiting stages – S6) and three concentrations of AsA (0, 88.06 and 176.12 mg/L), with three replicates and three plants per plot. Water deficit reduces the production of sour passion fruit, regardless of the phenological stage of the plants without AsA application. Irrigation with water deficit in the flowering stage (50% of crop evapotranspiration) reduces the physical and chemical quality of sour passion fruits. Ascorbic acid in applied levels was effective in alleviating the effects of water deficit on production, with emphasis on the concentration of 176.12 mg/L on the quality of sour passion fruits, in the period from 160 to 220 days after transplanting.