Fruit quality and genetic diversity of Spondias dulcis accessions

ABSTRACT Among the less exploited Brazilian native fruit trees, the Spondias dulcis (cajá-manga) has many uses, being their fruits appreciated in fresh consumption and its pulp used in popsicles, ice-creams, and jellies production. However, there is a lack of research on this species, being necessary more studies. This work aimed to characterize the physical and chemical quality and the genetic diversity of Spondias dulcis fruits harvested in different accessions in the municipality of Jataí - GO. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with six treatments (accessions), ten replications with ten fruits per plot, totaling a sample of 600 fruits. The fruits were evaluated for pulp and peel color, pulp yield, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, soluble solids content/titratable acidity ratio, and vitamin C content. The fruits from accessions M4 and M5 presented physical and chemical characteristics higher than the other plants. The evaluated accessions presented genetic variability, being the methodology employed efficiently to indicate this variability, in which the accession M2 was the most divergent.