Preliminary selection of sugar apple genotypes in Bom Jesus county, Piauí state, Brazil

Abstract

The sugar apple (Annona squamosa L.) is native to tropical America, occurring spontaneously in Northeastern Brazil, where it is exploited mainly as subsistence without adequate management and without genetic material selection. An experiment was developed aiming to evaluate yield, physical and chemical characteristics of the fruits of ten sugar apple genotypes in Bom Jesus, Piauí State, Brazil. A completely randomized design with treatments represented by ten genotypes and three replications was adopted. The following variables were evaluated: vitamin C, titratable acidity, soluble solids, SS/TA ratio, longitudinal diameter and transverse, LD/TD, number of seeds per fruit, fruit weight and fruit production per plant. The genotypes were grouped into seven groups, with emphasis on the group III (Gen-02) and group IV (Gen-05), what explicited the differences among sugar apple genotypes studied in relation to the chemical, physical and fruit production. Genotypes GEN-01 and GEN-02 present potential for installation in commercial crops, due to its fruit production, even as natural sources of vitamin C.