Breeding report of a new passion fruit cultivar Guihan No. 1

Guihan No. 1 is a new passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) variety derived from the seedlings of a wild purple passion fruit vine found in December, 2008 in Pingtang County，Guizhou province. The mother plant could overwinter safely. We collected the fruits in April, 2009, and raised seedlings in the greenhouse. A total of 217 seedlings were obtained and planted in March, 2010. 28 seedling plants with strong cold resistance were selected. Further selection was conducted for fruit quality and winter tolerance in multiple locations in 2011—2019. Finally, a strain with stronger cold resistance was selected and officially named Guihan No. 1. It was a herbaceous vine. The stem was purple green and cylindrical, the whole plant was glabrous. The average fruit weight was 42.5 g with oblate shape. The fruit surface was smooth. The flesh was orange- yellow with sour taste. Each fruit contained about 120 seeds. The edible rate was 43%, the soluble solids content 15.5%, total acid content 2.0%, total sugar content 71 mg · g-1 , and vitamin C content 17.6 mg · 100 g-1 . The fruit contained 17 amino acids. The fruit had a growth period of 60-70 days. It was self-compatible and could blossom and bear fruit throughout the year. The plant had strong cold resistance with a semi-lethal temperature (LT50) of -3.59 ℃, and it could overwinter normally in non-extreme climates. The shelf-life of the fruits was 7-14 days at room temperature, and when refrigerated (4 ℃) was 1 month. It would be suitable for cultivation in subtropical and high altitude areas. It could bloom and bear fruit in the same year with planting.