Passion Fruits Growing in Uganda is a well paying and Lucrative business and we have a right to call it a "GREEN GOLD" business. Passion farming is a highly lucrative enterprise with high and regular income.The crop is adaptable to a wide agro-ecological zone from low lands to the highlands.The demand for the fruit on both local and export market is still unmet. In Uganda passion fruits can grow well almost in 98% of the Country. The most commonly known types of Passion Fruits in Uganda are 4, which includes the Purple Local & Improved, the Yellow & the hard greenish ones. However, the most loved and desired that are economically viable, these are the Purple local which is also sub-categorised as "Masaka, Kasese, Kabale, & Mbale" AND then the Improved Purple passion fruits.
Passion Fruits have got an all year round market, and their demand in Uganda is very high. As of 19th Feb 2018, 5 passion fruits (KASESE) costs UG Shs 1000 & 6 FRUITS (MASAKA) at UG Shs 1000. Given the fact that Masaka and Kasese districts are the leading producers of passion fruits in Uganda, one would conclude that the climbing plant does well only in those parts of the country. However, with appropriate technology and best agronomic practices, the plant can grow well in all parts of Uganda. With a bag selling between Ushs 400,000 during bumper harvest and Ushs 700,000 in scarcity, and with ready market locally and internationally, venturing into passion fruit farming would be a worthwhile decision. But what does it require to maximally reap from the increasingly lucrative plant?
The first step is to have land. An acre can accommodate between 740 plants at a spacing of 8X6ft e.g. 8ft between vines and 6 ft between rows. “If the land is too fertile, you can use eight feet spacing and five feet for less fertile soil,” Health and potted planting materials grow very fast with minimal chances of disease attacks. It takes four to six months to start harvesting passion fruits, with a life span of about 18 months for the local purple variety while the improved Kawanda hybrid can live for three to five years depending on the management. There are normally two seasons of passion fruit harvesting.
he best varieties include the purple granadilla variety (locally known as Kasese, Masaka and Kenya varieties) and the highly resistant Kawanda hybrid, developed locally. The purple granadilla variety is popular for its powerful scent. While both varieties have ready market, the purple granadilla attracts higher prices than the Kawanda variety. During scarcity, a bag of local purple sells at Ushs700,000 and it has ever reached at 1,000,000 during the 2016 Drought while the Kawanda variety sells at Ushs250,000. In a well managed acre, a farmer can collect two to four bags of passion fruit a week for a period of 12 months for the two seasons. Taking two bags as the average, this translates into 96 bags. And, taking Ushs 400,000 as the lowest/average price per bag, a farmer would earn Ushs 38,400,000 million from an acre annually, but when prices shoot up to Ug shs 700,000 during scarcity, a farmer can easily pocket Ushs 67,200,000 million annually. On average, an acre requires a minimum investment of about Ug shs 1.8 million and Ug shs 3.7 million in rural and urban areas respectively.
Fertilizers Regardless of the fertility of your soil, passion fruit will require fertilizers at anyone point. The holes for passion fruits should be at least 2x2ft width and 3ft depth. The hole, should be well fertilized and dug at least two to three months earlier. After the hole is dug, a farmer should put back the top (black) soil and mix it with some fertilizers. He advises farmers to use compost manure such as poultry litter, cow dung etc in initial stages. To further boost their growth, a mixture of NPK and CAN fertilizers can be used at a stage when they are climbing and developing more branches. “Well managed fertilization facilitates close development and growth of nodes, something that results into flowering and growth of many fruits. One can also use foliar fertilizers to boost flowers and fruits,”. On average, a bag of NPK and CAN costs Ushs120,000 each. During drought, farmers should ensure flowers don’t fall by mulching their gardens for passion fruit needs a lot of water to do well. Farmers can also harvest water run-off to offset the adverse effects of drought. Management When passion fruits start growing by climbing, they can’t support themselves.
Therefore, construction of a structure also known as trellis is a must. When they are climbing, a farmer ties them on poles with banana fibers. “You must remove the many leaves to allow enough light for the flowers to develop into fruits but also to sweeten them,” he advises, adding, “The science of passion fruits is Vitamin D which is sunlight.” Enough light and aeration prevents early blight, a disease that makes fruits rot due to heavy rains. Heavy rains also results into late blight, a disease that affects leaves. Pest and disease control A number of insects are associated with the passion fruit plant. Some of these insects are beneficial while others are harmful. The role of the beneficial insects as pollinators is well known. Experience in passion fruit growing at Namulonge Research Station has identified a number of troublesome insect pests of which the most important include Mealy bugs, passion fruit mite, fruit flies and Aphids. Some of the major diseases include Brown spot, Woodiness disease and Fusariam Wilt. In addition to proper management of the farm such as weeding, pruning among others, Kigoye says some pests and diseases can be avoided by applying fungicides and pesticides such as a mixture of Indofil M45 and Dudu accerematine. “Make sure you spray every week in rainy seasons and at least twice a month in drought,” he advises. Intercropping It is a good idea not to waste the large spaces left in between the passion fruit rows. Annual crops such as egg plants, green paper, onions, carrots and other short term vegetables can be inter planted with passion fruit in the first year when the fruit is just getting established. Crops such as maize, bananas, sugarcane etc which tend to drain the plant nutrients from the soil heavily shouldn’t be planted. Market In addition to the local market, the European market and the growing number of super markets in Burundi, DR Congo, Rwanda and South Sudan presents new market opportunities for not only Uganda’s passion fruits but also pineapples, citrus, papaws and avocado. Uganda annually earns a huge of foreign exchange in Passion fruits exports to European and regional markerts, though there’s no proper statistics. The figures are expected to rise, according to the Agribusiness Development Centre. Ugandans can also add value to passion fruits by making juice and wine out of it. There are institutions that train people in juice and wine making at affordable rates.
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