DIVERSIDADE GENÉTICA ENTRE ACESSOS DE ARAÇÁ DE DIFERENTES MUNICÍPIOS DO SEMIÁRIDO BAIANO

Abstract

The “araçá” (Psidium spp) is a wild plant with potential for direct and indirect use, and it is found spontaneously in the Semiarid region of the State of Bahia. Thus, the aim of this work was to character- ize and evaluate the genetic diversity for rescuing of 37 accessions of “araça” from the counties of Campo For- moso, Senhor do Bonfim, Jacobina, Morro do Chapéu and Uauá using botanical, morphological and physic- chemical descriptors in plants of different phenological phases. Size of plant, trunk shape, leaf color, floral morphology, fruit transversal diameter, rind color of fruit, fruit mass, fruit longitudinal diameter, fruit shape, soluble solids, titratable acidity, maturation index and C vitamin were the descriptors used. The diversity among the accessions of “araçá” was estimated using the method of Tocher as well as the inverted Tocher start- ing of the integration of data. Three species were determined (P. schenckianum, P. guineense e P. grandi- folium) and it was found great variation for all descriptors used and it was also found plants of the same size of guava plants. Using Tocher and inverted Tocher it was found variation within the same species, among differ- ent species as well as among accessions of different counties and within counties. The descriptors that gave the major contribution were C vitamin (70,88%) and fruit mass (25,66%). The variation found for the descriptors used show that there is genetic diversity among the “araçá” accessions from the five counties of the Semiarid of the State of Bahia and they present potential to be conserved and for future uses.