Physical characterization of gabiroba fruits (Campomanesia adamantium) from Brazil neotropical savanna

Gabiroba is a species with potential for commercial cultivation due to its desirable agronomic characteristics, such as high yield and high levels of soluble solids. The objective of this study was to characterize fruits and seeds phenotypically and to evaluate the genetic structure in three natural subpopulations of Campomanesia adamantium, based on quantitative data. Fruits of gabiroba plants from three subpopulations were collected, sampling 10 mother plants per subpopulation, with collection of at least 10 fruits per matrix, totaling 300 fruits. Physical characterization data of fruits and seeds were submitted to descriptive analysis, analysis of variance and correlation among characters. There was significant variation for the length, width and fruit mass in C. adamantium at all hierarchical levels evaluated: among subpopulations and among mother plants within subpopulations. Most of the variation, for the three variables under study is found among fruits within mother plant, and then, there is greater variation among mother plants within subpopulation. The levels of variation found within the subpopulations were low. The correlation analysis demonstrated the existence of positive and high correlations between the variables such as, fruit length and fruit width, fruit length and fruit mass, fruit width and fruit mass. For a possible breeding program and / or conservation of the species, it is recommended to represent large number of subpopulations to ensure an adequate representativeness of the observed variability.