EFFECT OF ROOT-ZONE TEMPERATURE ON GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF CAPE GOOSEBERRY (PHYSALIS PERUVIANA L.)

In Berlin under greenhouse conditions ecotypes Colombia, Sudafrica and Kenia of cape gooseberry were grown in plastic pots with sand culture under constant root-zone temperatures of 14, 18 and 22°C and changing day/night soil temperature of 22/14°C. The pots were kept in controlled water baths and the plants were pruned up to 20 generative buds.
The cape gooseberries produced the most dry matter at 22/14°C especially in leaves and roots.
Ecotype Colombia had the least unit fruit fresh weigth (4.2 g) as compared with Kenia (8.9 g) and Sudafrica (6.6 g). Temperatures of 14 and 18°C produced fruits of 6.3 g and of 22 and 22/14°C fruits of 6.8 g.
The night root temperature decrease (22/14°C) increased fruit weight in the Sudafrica plants (7.1 g).

Ecotype Colombia and Sudafrica were grown in a second experiment at 8, 15, 22 and 29°C constant root-zone temperature without pruning.
At 8°C vegetative and generative growth were very low and with higher temperatures the number of leaves and the leaf area per plant increased, producing the largest leaves at 15°C. The line Colombia accumulated the most dry matter at 29°C and Sudafrica at 22°C. The avg. fruit number increased with the temperature from 15 at 8°C to 44 at 29°C; likewise the avg. fresh weight increased from 29.9 g to 62.8 g/plant.
Water consumption increased with soil temperature.

International Symposium on Fruit Growing in Tropical Highlands

G. Fischer, P. Lüdders

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1992.310.23