SELECTION VIA MIXED MODELS IN SEGREGATING GUAVA FAMILIES BASED ON YIELD AND QUALITY TRAITS

Abstract

ABSTRACT Aiming at the generation of new guava varieties with superior attributes, we conducted this study adopting the REML/BLUP procedure at individual level. Seventeen segregating guava families were evaluated in a randomized-block design with two replicates and 12 plants per plot. Families were obtained after controlled biparental pollination. The studied individuals showed high genotypic variance for fruit weight (FW), total yield (YLD), and ascorbic acid content (AAC). The heritability coefficients of the mean of progenies led to high progeny-selection accuracy for pulp yield (PY), soluble solids content (SSC), in addition to FW, YLD, and AAC; moderate accuracy for fruit acidity (FA) and SSC/FA ratio; and low accuracy for mesocarp thickness (MT) and pH. Selection among families (h2mp) indicated the highest values for FW, PY, YLD, SSC, and AAC, revealing that, for the present study, this practice would be effective, since these traits allowed for the highest selection accuracy values among families. As for the ranking of individuals, families originating from crosses UENF 1835 × UENF 1834, UENF 1831 × UENF 1832, and UENF 1831 × UENF 3739 stood out, occupying the first positions for most traits.