Morphological characterization of lulo (Solanum quitoense lam.) in the municipality for Pachavita, boyac�

Abstract

Lulo (Solanum quitoense L.) is considered a promising underutilized fruit due to its nutritional value, taste, and appearance. It contains vitamins, such as A and C which give it antioxidant, diuretic and regenerative properties. However, this fruit suffers phytosanitary problems that diminish its quality and yield. The genetic potential of lulo has not been exploited. Thus, it is necessary to implement strategies to analyze its genetic diversity. Therefore, this research aimed to characterize the genetic diversity of lulo materials from the municipality of Pachavita-Boyacá, through morphological descriptors. Twenty-one lulo materials were collected, which were morphologically characterized using four qualitative and eighteen quantitative descriptors. The principal components analysis (PCA) showed a variation of 84 % supported by the first five eigenvalues that were ≥ 1, thus, identifying the high variability of the studied materials. The PCA dendrogram of the materials collected from lulo, showed three groups, according to the characteristics of the fruit. The most relevant variables included the equatorial axis of the fruit (AXF), polar axis of the fruit (AXP), thickness of the peel (TP), weight of five fruits (WF), weight of 100 seeds (WS), volume of juice of five fruits (VJF) and color of the pulp (CP). The high variability found in this study is the basis for future breeding programs in lulo.