Biometry, Emergence and Initial Growth of Accessions and Mangaba Progenies

Mangaba (Hancornia speciosa Gomes) is a native fruit of great economic, cultural, and environmental importance in its areas of occurrence. Due to extractive activities and real estate pressure, the number of natural populations has considerably decreased. The propagation of the species is still one of the primary obstacles for orchard implantations, thus, studies that provide a better understanding of the dynamics of the species’ growth should be developed. This work aimed to evaluate the biometry, emergence, and initial growth of mangaba progenies (Hancornia speciosa Gomes), using the plant material from the Active Germplasm Bank of Embrapa Coastal Tablelands, located in Itaporanga d’Ajuda, SE, Brazil. Treatments consisted of progenies from 17 accessions. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design with four replications of 25 seeds. Number of seeds per fruit, as well as fruit and seed weight (g), length (mm), width (mm), and thickness (mm) were evaluated. For emergence and initial growth, the following variables were analyzed: percentage of emergence (PE%), emergence speed index (ESI%), survival rate (SR%), height (H), stem diameter (SD), and the number of leaves (NL). Biometric analyses of fruits and seeds revealed significant phenotypic variability among mangaba accessions. Progenies of the accessions LGP1, LGP3, LGP4, PTP4, TCP2, TCP6, ABP1, ABP2, ABP4 and BIP4 showed better results for all emergence and initial growth variables. The progenies of accessions TCP1, BIP4, CAP5 and PRP5 expressed lower emergence and survival percentages, and low vigor.