Guava breeding via full-sib family selection: conducting selection cycle and divergence between parents and families

Abstract The major hindrance to guava fruit (Psidium guajava L.) growing is the low availability of cultivars for use by Brazilian producers, who usually rely on few options of genotypes to implement the crop. In the present study, 11 full-sib families were evaluated in a randomized-block experimental design with three replicates, in order to more efficiently select superior genotypes. Genetic parameters were estimated and the best genotypes were selected based on genetic value by applying the REML/BLUP statistical procedure. Additionally, genetic divergence was estimated based on the mean Euclidian distance between the individuals selected via BLUP. Based on genetic divergence, the best genotypes were selected for use as parents in new crosses aiming at continuity of the guava breeding program. The mean values of the traits of selected individuals surpassed the mean values of their parents, confirming that the strategy of obtaining full-sib families is effective in generating considerable gains.