Association between quantitative characters of Spondias tuberosa A. Camara

Abstract

Sixteen "umbu" trees (Spondias tuberosa A. Camara) of spontaneous occurrence were characterized and investigated at Petrolina, PE, Brazil. The phenotypic correlations, partial correlations and path analysis were estimated. The brix versus acidity and seed versus pulp weight presented high and positive phenotypic correlations, while the correlation between weight of fruit versus number of fruits/tree was negative. The path analysis study, adopting a chain diagram, revealed that the primary component, number of fruits/plant and the secondary components width of fruit and canopy diameter were the most important variables for "umbu" fruit production increase (kg/plant). The number of fruits/plant was influenced by the width of fruit and canopy diameter. The weights of seed and pulp seem to be the most important variables for increasing the weight of "umbu" fruit.