Lesson 6.12.0 PEPINO - Solanum muricatum Ait.

  

FOOD FOREST COURSE

AGRO-ECONOMY Lesson 6.12.0

PEPINO - Solanum muricatum Ait.

 

Pepino, Melon pear, Melon Shrub or Pear Melon is some of the common names given to this delicious fruit.

 

Pepino is derived from the solanaceae family and it is distantly related to the Tamarillo (tree tomato), tomatillo, cape gooseberry and the tomato.  This fruit is native to the temperate regions of Columbia, Peru, and Chilli.  It is a hardy plant that doesn’t particularly like frost or temperatures that are too hot and too dry.

 

Cultivation

Pepino likes a full sun to semi- shaded position and tends not to have much fruit set when it is too shady. A near neutral pH in a free draining soil, sheltered from strong winds and facing a northern aspect is ideal for siting this plant.

 

We use pepino in between the garden beds where there is plenty of space to ramble as a ground cover, but they can be trained to grow onto a trellis as well.  This plant tends to grow well along the ground, and I like to utilise its growth habit has a weed suppressant with the added advantage of having delicious fruit as well.

 

The pepino bush has a woody base and grows to about one metre high and several less than that across.  Soil requirements are not too demanding, but I have found that they give more abundant fruit when they are situated in good soil and in a sunny position.  Pepino is not tolerant of extremes of prolonged dry spells but its water requirements are not high either.  For successful fruiting there must be adequate moisture as the roots are quite shallow.

 

Propagating pepino is very easy from about summer onwards as this is when the rootlets form along the trailing branches.  This is the best time to take cuttings although without the rootlets being present it is still possible to strike from cuttings, as long as they have not been allowed to wilt.  In other words, pot them within a few hours of picking otherwise they will not take.  Plant the pepino about one metre apart to give them plenty of room to grow. 

 

Pests and diseases are the same as for tomatoes, and fruit fly can be a problem, but I have found them easy to grow as long as there is no prolonged drought or wet.  I have also found that without adequate soil moisture there will be no flowering, therefore no fruit set.  The flower looks very similar to a closed potato flower, and it is self-pollinating but can also cross-pollinate.  The plant does not set fruit until the night temperatures are above 18ºC.  In the right conditions, the pepino is a thriving, hardy plant that can be used as a ground cover with the bonus of having delicious fruit as well.  Text from the roots, Elisabeth Ferkonia (Aus.) PDC studied with Bill Mollison.

 


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