Published
How to Cite
Physiology and crop aspects of Solanum quitoense LAM (LULO) in Colombia
Contextualization: lulo is a promising fruit of high demand in the markets due to its excellent organoleptic properties, as well as an important source of vitamins and minerals.
Knowledge gap: in the last ten years, multiple investigations have been carried out about the ecophysiology of the lulo plant, without a previous literature review of this.
Purpose: collect general aspects of the lulo crop, including the main agronomic requirements and ecophysiological aspects for sustainable production.
Methodology: the research was based on a methodical and orderly review of the most relevant studies published in different databases.
Results and conclusions: lulo plants grows between 1,900 and 2,200 m. a. s. l. in Colombia with temperatures of 15 to 24 °C. It requires between 1,500 to 2,500 mm of precipitation per year. It appears like a short-day plant, which exhibits its best development in shady places with relative humidity close to 80 %. The most efficient pollination method is carried out by bumblebees (Bombus terrestris and Bombus sp.) through vibrations. The net photosynthesis of the lulo plants varies from 5.52 to 34.03 μmol CO2 m-2 s-1 at 398 and 460 days after transplanting, while the maximum efficiency of photosystem II (FV/Fm) in the lulo crop oscillates between 0.55 and 0.65 for plants without and with foliar nitrogen application.
The values of a, b, and total chlorophyll, for lulo plants, are higher in plants in the transplant stage than in production, due to the reduced photosynthetic area. High concentrations of nitrogen (N) (greater than 110 mg L-1) lead to better yield and a larger leaf area. The lulo plant begins its production between eight and 12 months after being transplanted and average yields of 8.5 t ha-1 have been reported. The development and growth of lulo fruits have a simple sigmoid logistic model. The lulo fruits in harvest time can reach up to 209 g, with firmness of 58 N and values of 13,6 °Brix and 56.2, 10.8 and 46.8 for the luminosity (L*), chroma a* and chorma b* color parameters, respectively.