Vegetative Growth of Genipa americana L. Accessions

Abstract

Jagua (Genipa americana L.) is widely distributed throughout the Americas. It has been used since ancient times due to the pigments extracted from its fruit. This study aimed to evaluate the vegetative growth of five Jagua accessions by adjusting non-linear models to dasometric growth variables. The accessions (Porce, Chigorodó, San Carlos, San Luis, and Vigía del Fuerte in Antioquia) were collected in the central-western region of Colombia. The growth, determined through plant height and stem diameter (at 0.10 and 1.30 m), was evaluated for 262 weeks in the municipality of Amalfi. A descriptive analysis of the growth behavior of each accession was performed, and the fit of four nonlinear functional models was evaluated. An influence of the accession factor on growth was found due the different growth rates. The Weibull model was the one with the best fit and predictive capacity, which confirmed the differences between accessions.

Keywords

• jagua
• growth analysis
• weibull model
• tropical forest
• non-timber forest resources