Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi verificar como o número de frutos comerciais por planta (NFr) se relaciona com 16 características morfológicas e agronômicas do mamoeiro (Carica papaya L.). O experimento foi realizado no ano agrícola de 2008/2009, utilizando o delineamento experimental de blocos aumentados. Foram avaliados 19 genótipos não comuns (acessos de germoplasma) e 3 comuns (variedades e híbridos), em 10 repetições. As correlações entre NFr e as características morfoagronômicas do mamoeiro foram desdobradas em efeitos diretos e indiretos. Observou-se alta variabilidade nas características avaliadas. As estimativas das correlações genotípicas foram maiores do que as fenotípicas, para todas as características. O NFr foi positivo e significativamente correlacionado com número de frutos por axila (NFrAx); e negativamente com diâmetro da cavidade do fruto, espessura da polpa, peso, comprimento (CFr) e diâmetro do fruto. Entretanto, a análise de trilha demonstrou que, entre essas características, NFrAx e CFr possuem maior efeito direto sobre NFr. Além disso, as características altura da planta, número de flores por pedúnculo e largura da folha são de mais fácil mensuração e manifestam-se antes da produção de frutos, o que as torna mais indicadas para a seleção indireta em programas de melhoramento genético dessa cultura.Termos para indexação: Carica papaya, características morfoagronômicas, componentes da produção, melhoramento genético, seleção indireta. Genetic correlation and path analysis for the number of commercial fruit per plant in papayaAbstract -The objective of this work was to determine how the number of commercial fruit per plant (CFrP) is related to 16 morphological and agronomical traits in papaya (Carica papaya L.). The experiment was carried out in the 2008/2009-crop season, using an augmented randomized block design. Nineteen non-common (germplasm accessions) and three common genotypes (varieties and hybrids) were evaluated with ten repetitions. Correlations between CFrP and morpho-agronomic traits were outspread in direct and indirect effects. High variability was found for the evaluated traits. The estimates of genetic correlations were higher than phenotypic correlations for all characters. CFrP was positively and significantly correlated with number of fruits per axil (NFAx) and negatively with the internal diameter of the cavity of the fruit, pulp thickness, fruit weight, fruit length (FrL) and fruit diameter. However, path analysis showed that, among this traits, NFAx and FrL have more direct effect on CFrP. Furthermore, plant height, number of flowers per peduncle and leaf width are more easily measured and are expressed before fruit production, making them more suitable for indirect selection in breeding programs of this crop.

Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar descritores quantitativos e estimar parâmetros genéticos em genótipos de mamoeiro (Carica papaya). Foi instalado um experimento em blocos aumentados, para a avaliação de 27 genótipos, entre cultivares, variedades melhoradas e variedades locais, com o uso de 30 descritores relacionados à planta, folhas, flores, frutos e sementes. Após diversos ciclos de melhoramento, os genótipos ainda mostravam ampla variabilidade quanto aos descritores avaliados. A maior parte da variação fenotípica ocorreu em razão da variância genotípica. A herdabilidade variou de 60,48 a 99,05% e, em 80% dos casos, foi superior a 80,46%. A razão entre o coeficiente de variação genético e o ambiental foi maior do que a unidade para 63% das características. Há diferenças agronômicas suficientes para uso dos genótipos "per se" ou como parentais em programas de melhoramento, em razão de agregarem variação genética, qualidade de frutos e tipo agronômico.Termos para indexação: Carica papaya, desenvolvimento de variedades, melhoramento genético, seleção de parentais, variação genética. Evaluation of papaya genotypes using agronomic descriptors and estimation of genetic parametersAbstract -The objective of this work was to evaluate quantitative descriptors and to estimate genetic parameters in genotypes of papaya (Carica papaya). An experiment was settled using augmented blocks, for the evaluation of 27 genotypes, among cultivars, improved lines and local varieties with 30 descriptors related to the plant, leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds. After several cycles of breeding, the genotypes still showed broad variability for the evaluated descriptors. Most of the phenotypic variation occurred due to genetic variance. The heritability ranged from 60.48 to 99.05%, and in 80% cases it was higher than 80.46%. The ratio between genetic and environmental coefficients of variation, was greater than the unity for 63% traits. There are enough agronomic differences which allow for the use of the genotypes "per se" or as parents in breeding programs because they aggregate genetic variation, fruit quality and agronomic type.

Conventional methods for the selection of papaya pure lines are time-consuming. Procedures involving the use of molecular markers and the indirect selection of homozygous plants can reduce this time considerably. The objective of this study was to evaluate the informativeness of a microsatellite marker set when used in marker-assisted selection (MAS) for the development of new papaya lines. Eighty-three lines originating from two segregating F 3 populations and from papaya germplasm were used for the molecular analysis of 27 microsatellite primers. Twenty polymorphic microsatellite primers were identified, allowing the identification of 86 alleles, with an average of 3.18 alleles per primer. The observed heterozygosity values were low for both the markers (0.00-0.29) and the individual lines (0.00-0.35). The inbreeding coefficient (f) ranged from 0.634 to 1.00. Eleven lines with f = 1.00 and 18 lines with f varying from 0.953 to 0.961 were identified. In addition, papaya lines showed high genetic diversity, which will certainly contribute to the development of new varieties. Our results show that the use of microsatellites in MAS is a quick and effective procedure for the development of papaya lines.

Resumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar genótipos de mamoeiro quanto às suas características físicas e físico-químicas, para identificar os mais promissores como novas cultivares comerciais. Foram realizadas análises de comprimento, diâmetro, diâmetro da cavidade interna, massa do fruto, espessura da polpa, firmeza do fruto com casca, firmeza da polpa, cor da polpa, acidez titulável, sólidos solúveis, pH, carotenoides totais e vitamina C em 22 genótipos. Observou-se variação significativa entre os genótipos para as características comprimento e massa dos frutos. Em relação à firmeza dos frutos com casca, 12 genótipos apresentaram firmeza superior à das cultivares comerciais Tainung N o 1 e Sunrise Solo. A análise de correlação indicou que frutos com maior comprimento, diâmetro e diâmetro da cavidade interna tendem a apresentar maior peso e espessura de polpa, enquanto frutos com maiores teores de sólidos solúveis tendem a apresentar maior razão sólidos solúveis/acidez titulável, vitamina C e carotenoides totais. A linhagem L72, do grupo Solo, e o híbrido H36.45, do grupo Formosa, apresentam frutos com características físicas e físico-químicas semelhantes ou superiores às das cultivares comerciais Sunrise Solo e Tainung N o 1, respectivamente, e, portanto, são promissoras para o mercado.Termos para indexação: Carica papaya, carotenoides, desenvolvimento de cultivares, melhoramento genético, vitamina C. Physicochemical characterization of new hybrids and inbred lines of papayaAbstract -The objective of this work was to evaluate papaya genotypes as to their physical and physicochemical characteristics, in order to identify the most promising ones as new commercial cultivars. Analyses of length, diameter, internal cavity diameter, mass, pulp thickness, firmness of fruit with peel, pulp firmness, pulp color, titratable acidity, soluble solids, pH, total carotenoids, and vitamin C were performed in 22 genotypes. A significant variation among genotypes was observed for the characteristics fruit length and mass. Regarding firmness of fruits with peel, 12 genotypes showed higher firmness than the Tainung N o 1 and Sunrise Solo cultivars. Correlation analysis showed that fruits with greater length, diameter, and internal cavity diameter tend to have greater weight and pulp thickness, whereas fruits with higher soluble solids tend to have higher soluble solids/titratable acidity ratio, vitamin C, and total carotenoids. The L72 inbred line of the Solo group and the H36.45 hybrid of the Formosa group present fruit with physical and physicochemical characteristics similar or superior to those of the Sunrise Solo and Tainung N o 1 commercial cultivars, respectively, and, therefore, are promising to the market.

Abstract

A set of 81 new microsatellite markers for Carica papaya L. previously identified by data mining using freely available sequence information from Genbank were tested for polymorphism using 30 germplasm accessions from the Papaya Germplasm Bank (PGM) at Embrapa Mandioca e Fruticultura Tropical (CNPMF) and 18 landraces. The data were used to estimate pairwise genetic distances between the genotypes. A neighbor-joining based dendrogram was used to define clusters and infer possible genetic structuring of the collection. Most microsatellites were polymorphic (73%), with an observed number of alleles per locus ranging from one to eleven. The levels of observed and expected heterozygosity for 51 polymorphic loci varied from 0.00 to 0.85 and from 0.08 to 0.82, averaging 0.19 and 0.59, respectively. Forty-four percent of microsatellites showed polymorphism information content (PIC) higher than 0.50. The compound microsatellites seem to be more informative than dinucleotide and trinucleotide repeats in average alleles per locus and PIC. Among dinucleotides, AG/TC or GA/CT repeat motifs exhibited more informativeness than TA/AT, GT/CA and TG/AC repeat motifs.The neighbor-joining analysis based on shared allele distance could differentiate all the papaya accessions and landraces as well as differences in their genetic structure. This set of markers will be useful for examining parentage, inbreeding and population structure in papaya.

This study was conducted to define a list of sufficient minimum descriptors to distinguish between papaya genotypes quickly and precisely. To this end, 30 quantitative and 21 multi-category descriptors related to plant characteristics, such as leaves, flowers, fruit and seeds were evaluated in 27 genotypes of papaya, including crops, local varieties and improved lines. The quantitative descriptors were subjected to principal components analyses using the Singh and direct selection methods, whereas a correlation analysis was conducted for the qualitative descriptors. Eighteen and fifteen quantitative descriptors were discarded by the Singh and direct selection methods, respectively. However, considering the simultaneous analyses of these methodologies, 60% of the descriptors were selected to maximize the total variation of the genotypes. Six of the multi-category descriptors were monomorphic, and two were highly correlated with other characteristics and were discarded. The minimum descriptors that were selected had high discrimination potentials when they were analyzed together. Thus, for the purposes of the protection of varieties and the classification of the genotypes of papaya, there were found to be 18 quantitative and 13 multi-category minimum descriptors that contributed significantly to the total variation and possessed low correlation with each other. The elimination of descriptors did not entail a loss of information. Those descriptors that contributed most significantly to the first three principal components were the stem diameters, fruit lengths and widths, inflorescence peduncle lengths, thickness of fruit skin, leaf widths, dry and fresh seed weights and ratio between fruit lengths and widths and between total soluble solids and total titratable acidities.

AGRONOMIC EVALUATION OF PAPAYA LINES AND HYBRIDSABSTRACT -This study aimed to evaluate the agronomic potential of papaya hybrids synthesized by Embrapa Cassava & Fruits, to identify and select genotypes with good agronomic characteristics, exploitable in the breeding program and direct use in the papaya production system. This study was carried out in the Experimental Field Sector of Embrapa Cassava & Fruits, Cruz das Almas -BA. It was evaluated 22 genotypes (eight lines, twelve hybrids and two witnesses: Sunrise Solo and Tainung n o 1) in a randomized block design with four replications of six plants per plot, totalizing 528 plants. For most characters significant differences were observed at 1% and 5% probability, except for stem diameter (SD). The line L60 and H10.60 stood out with the lowest averages for plant height (PH) and insertion height of the first fruits (IHFF), and were not statistically different. Lines L10 and L72, and the hybrids H10.26, H10.60 and H10.72 showed higher averages of numbers of commercial fruits (NCF) than the witness Sunrise Solo. For yield, it was observed wide variability among treatments, with 75% of lines and hybrids overcame the witnesses. Over 50% of the genotypes showed soluble solids (SS) averages above 12 ° Brix. Aiming to associate favorable characteristics for development of new varieties, lines and hybrids that showed satisfactory behavior to the main characters were: L60 and H10.60 to IHFF and PH; L10, L72, H10.26, H10.60 and H10.72, for NCF; L10, H10.72, H26.72, H33.56 and H36.45, for productivity (PROD), and L26, L36, H10.26, H10.60 and H60.72, for SS.