ISHS Acta Horticulturae 452: International Symposium on Myrtaceae
PERFORMANCE OF SURINAM CHERRY (EUGENIA UNIFLORA L.) IN PERNAMBUCO, BRAZIL. II - PRODUCTIVE PERIOD 1989 – 1995* |
| Authors: | J. Bezerra, E. Preitas, A. Pedrosa, I. Lederman, A. Dantas |
| Keywords: | pitanga selection, plant breeding, germplasm |
| Abstract:
During seven years, the performance of 122 seedlings of Surinam cherry was studied in a red-yellow podzolic soil of the "Mata Norte" region of Pernambuco, Northeast, Brazil. The region has a hot and humid weather with an average rainfall of 1000 mm, distributed mainly from March to August, mean temperature of 24°C, and relative humidity of 80%. Seedlings have shown a good adaptation to the "Zona da Mata" environment when evaluated considering growth and development parameters as well as yield and fruit quality. Height of 10 selected plants varied from 2.2 to 3.4 m with a mean of 2.7 m. After seven harvesting years outstanding selection were IPA-2.2, IPA-3.2 and IPA-1.1 with an average production of 12.7, 12.5, and 11.2 kg of fruit/year, respectively. Surinam cherry trees have shown to have two harvesting seasons. One from April to May and another from August to October, with a peak production in September. Chemical analyses of fruits have shown that the highest ratio Brix/acidity were attained by IPA-11.3 (6.3), IPA-7.3 (5.4), IPA-1.3 (5.4), and IPA-2.2 (5.1) selections. However, for commercial growers of Surinam cherry in the region, IPA-2.2 and IPA-3.2 selections were recommended due to their better production characteristics and fruit quality. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
