Abstract: To understand the yield and quality formation characteristics of passion fruit and their response to meteorological factors in Guangxi, we investigated the yield and yield components of ‘Tainong No. 1’, the main variety of passion fruit in China. We determined the fruit quality of different branches ripening in the same period and fruit quality of the same branches ripening in different periods. We further analyzed the relationships between quality characters and meteorological factors during flowing to fruit ripening stage by correlation analysis and regression analysis. The yield per unit area was 11.65 t·hm^-2. The secondary lateral vine and primary lateral vine were the main yield components, with a contribution of 58.2% and 24.2%, respectively. The harvest time of the fruit was 91-186 days after transplanting. The fruit ripening time ranged from 43 to 165 days. Fruit morphology and single fruit weight were not affected by the ripening time. Fruit quality among different branches in the same harvest time differed in pulp weight, titratable acid content, and peel thickness. For the quality of fruit harvested in different growing seasons of the same branch, pulp weight and juice yield increased with the growth delay and the increasing ripening time. Pulp weight and juice yield began to decrease when the ripening time was longer than 125.6 and 141.6 days, respectively. The soluble solid content and peel thickness decreased from January of the following year. Except the maximum relative humidity, temperature and light intensity in the ripening stage of fruit were significantly negatively correlated with pulp weight and juice yield, while the relative humidity was significantly positively correlated with pulp weight and juice yield. The pulp weight (>35 g) and juice yield (>45%) of ‘Tainong No. 1’ were relatively high under the conditions of 16.1-18.7 ℃ for daily average temperature from flowering to maturity, 2.8×10³-3.2×10³ lx for daily average light intensity, and 88.0%-89.4% for the daily average relative humidity.

Key words: passion fruit, yield, quality, meteorological factor, branch.