ORCID

Eric Stafne https://orcid.org/0009-0003-1875-5145

MSU Affiliation

Coastal Research and Extension Center; South Mississippi Branch Experiment Station; Extension Service (MSUES); Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station (MAFES); College of Agriculture and Life Sciences; Department of Plant and Soil Science

Creation Date

2026-10-16

Abstract

Measuring cold hardiness of Passionfruit (Passiflora spp.) is an area of significant interest, especially in new regions where the crop is expanding. However, few studies have explored it in a controlled manner. A previous study by Quesada (1992) revealed that lethal temperatures (LT50) for P. edulis f. flavicarpa were -9 to -10.5°C and -10 to -12.5°C for P. edulis f. edulis. Another species, P. incarnata, was also tested and found to have a cold hardiness level of -11.1 to -13.5°C. In the present study, differential thermal analysis was used on roots of P. incarnata selections from different states (Oklahoma and Florida), intraspecific hybrids between those selections, a hybrid selection of P. edulis f. flavicarpa and P. incarnata Oklahoma (21R23), and a P. edulis f. edulis x P. edulis f. flavicarpa hybrid (Big BB). Preliminary testing showed that potential differences exist within P. incarnata, with the Oklahoma selection being hardier than the FL selection (-14.5 vs -8.3°C). Hybrids of these two had an intermediate cold hardiness of -10.5°C. These were similar to the values from Quesada, however, the cold hardiness of Big BB diverged from results for P. edulis types. Big BB had an LT50 of -3.6°C, which is more consistent with visual estimates of P. edulis cold hardiness in other literature. The hybrid 21R23 had a hardiness level of -9.5°C, a result that shows offspring of crosses involving P. edulis and P. incarnata can have dramatically improved cold hardiness over the P. edulis parent.

Keywords

differential thermal analysis, P. edulis, P. incarnata

Publication Date

Fall 10-16-2026

Comments

Accepted for publication in the Proceedings of the 137th Annual Meeting of the Florida State Horticultural Society; in press. https://www.fshs.org/annual-proceedings

Download

Share

COinS