Genetic variability among genotypes of “gabirobeiras” selected for precocity

Abstract

Gabirobeira is a fruit tree native to the Brazilian Cerrado with a good productivity and acceptance by the local population and with good prospects for processing. Even with the growing interest in the industry and its potential use, information on gabirobas is limited. Therefore, the knowledge of the development, the characteristics of fruits and the genetic divergence is fundamental to define actions of domestication and adaptation to the productive system. The objective of this study is to determine the genetic variability of 173 genotypes of Gabirobeira from the Jataí-Goiás germplasm collection based on plant and fruit morphological traits. The evaluations were carried out in two periods, and eleven morphological traits were evaluated. Based on data, we performed statistical descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, estimation of relative importance of traits and cluster analysis using multivariate techniques (Tocher and UPGMA). The results showed variability and, among the genotypes studied, it was verified that the lowest and the highest CV (15.8% and 102.49%) were observed for fruit width and number of branches. The mean values obtained for soluble solids ranged from 6 to 26 ºBrix. The contribution of different traits assessed for variability ranged from 0.10 to 27.55%. The dissimilarity varied from 3.64 to 80.35, with an average of 23.083. Both grouping methods formed 18 groups. These results show that the germplasm collection presents variability, which can be used as a guide for its maintenance with the possibility of exploring this variability in future genetic improvement works.