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| Passionfruit is one of the fastest growing crops and therefore has a quick financial return period. There is barely nine months between sowing and the first economically viable harvest. At present, an estimated 185 hectares are cultivated with passionfruit, representing approximately 1,000 tonnes of fresh fruit. The passionfruit is a climbing plant originally from the Amazon basin. It grows well in the Chapare, especially in areas of lower humidity. Some of its technical features are: The Brazilian Golden Star, the most commonly used brand in the Chapare, although seeds have been imported from Ecuador and Colombia. The Golden Star is a vigorous plant giving large and round fruit (10 to 12 centimetres in diameter) with a firm and thick yellow skin, juicy pulp and quite tangy. The plant has large green leaves and its branches are reddish purple and pink coloured. If sowing takes place between March and June, the plants flower in September and October, and can be harvested between December and July. Late sowing means delay in harvest and a reduced productivity. There are three ways of marketing passionfruit: as fresh fruit, for industrial use, and for exportation as concentrated or raw material. The consumption market for passionfruit as a fresh fruit is limited as it is commonly used for the production of juice adding water and sugar. Passionfruit is also used to flavour ice-cream, yoghurt and other similar products, and for the production of jams. Passionfruit can also be blended in juices and jams with other fruits. It is popular among consumers because of its strong aroma and flavour. Estimates indicate that the national market demand for 1998 will be around 900 tons of fresh fruit. For fresh consumption, the current demand is estimated at 80,000 kilos per year. The demand can increase to 150,000 kilos with improvements made to packing techniques (in order to protect the fruit in transit) and by promoting the product. It is estimated that currently Bolivian processing industry requires 603,000 kilos of fresh fruit per year. It is certainly possible that these demand will reach 900,000 kilos in 1998. THE WONDERS OF THE PASSIONFRUIT Passionfruit is most commonly known as "The Passion Flower". It is one of the most consumed tropical fruits, as it has healing qualities such as a sedative, a disinfectant, a diuretic, an antidepressant, an anthelmintic, an antispasmodic and an anti-convulsing. In Brazil the passionfruit is used to cure asthma, coughs, diarrhoea, colic, bronchitis and insomnia. In Turkey it is used for dysmenorrhoea, epilepsy, neuralgia and neurosis. In the United States it is used as an aphrodisiac, to relieve burns, for sight problems, for ruptures, hemorrhoids, swelling, for the skin and for the hair. In other parts of the. world it is used as a perfume, as medicine, as a painkiller, for spasms, etc. It is frequently used for nervous system disorders, such as insomnia, restlessness, hysteria, depression, neurasthenia (this is psychosomatological, the victim tires easily, has little motivation and feels inadequate) and headaches brought on by nervous disorders. Dr. Alberto Seabra, a well-known Brazilian homeopath, is quoted as saying "The passionfruit is currently known throughout the world and is used on its own or with other products in different formulas by various laboratories and under many names. It brings on natural sleep without causing nervous depressions and for this reason is prescribed for every type of insomnia. Its frequent consumption brings no negative side-effects because it is not toxic or addictive. It must be recommended for all types of nervous restlessness, hysteria, neurasthenia, and in some cases, obsessive depression". | |||
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