[Phenological study of the cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.)]

The great development that no-traditional fruit have had in relation to the production and planted area shows that Chile, as a producing country, is discovering and entering new and interesting markets. As the cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) has been reported to thrive in mediterranean climates like ours, it is of interest to know how this crop grows in our conditions. The specific objectives of this study were to know the phenology of one year old cape gooseberry plants coming from two different dates of sowing; to compare the phenology, quality and production of fruits between 1 and 2 year old plants, and to estimate planting dates to prolong the production of fruits in 1 year old plants. Two year old already established cape gooseberry plants and 1 year-old plants with two sowing dates, propagated during the same season of this study, were used. Degree day accumulation for each phenophase was measured from bud break and transplanting in the 2 and 1 year old plants, respectively. Among the plant development variables, shoot number, diameter and length as well as number of buds per shoot and fruit growth were measured. With respect to production and quality, the number, weight, acidity and soluble solids of fruits were determined. Finally, for the plant growth variables, the fresh weight of shoots, leaves and roots was measured. Concerning the duration of each phenophase, the four first, i.e. flower bud (F1), swollen flower bud (F2), bloom (F3) and fruit set (F4) lasted a week each one, and the set fruit of 1 cm in diameter (F5) and harvest (F6) lasted longer as well as they occurred later over time. Degree day requirements for all the phenophases of the 1 year old plants was similar but not for the 2 year old plants which had lower values. For the development variables, the values obtained in the 2 year old plants were always lower than those of the 1 year old plants for their two sowing dates. The soluble solids and acidity values did not vary among the three plant populations. The values obtained for the plants'growth variables indicate that there was less overall development in the 2 year old plants. By knowing the degree day requirements, transplanting dates could be programmed so as to obtain more regular harvest over time depending on the zone and times with frost probabilities