Descrição biométrica de plantas e dos atributos quanti-qualitativos de frutos de icozeiro (Capparis yco) procedentes de áreas espontâneas no semiárido paraibano

The icozeiro (Capparis yco) is an endemic plant in the northeastern Brazil, with spontaneous access occurring in micro regions of the semi-arid region of Paraíba. However, there is practically no information about the plant or the characterization of its fruits from Curimataú in Paraíba. Based on that, this research aimed to describe the biometric characteristics of plants and the physical and chemical attributes of icozeiro fruits coming from spontaneous accesses. In plants, the variables evaluated were the following: height, stem diameter, crown diameter, leaf length and width, length of floral rachis, number of flowers per panicle and number of fruits. In the fruits, the physical characters were analyzed (equatorial diameter and length, total fresh mass, peel mass, seed mass, pulp mass, number of seeds, percentage of peel, percentage of peel, peel thickness and pulp yield), and chemical attributes (contents of soluble solids and pH). The plants presented average heights of 2.7 ± 0.8 m. Average canopy diameter was 2.4 ± 1.0 m, and average floral rachis length was 10.8 ± 4.9 cm and between 3.0 and 58.0 flowers per panicle. Analysis of fruits indicated an average mass of 77.7 ± 35.7 g, 12 ± 7.2 seeds per fruit, average pulp yield of 44.1 ± 8.5%, soluble solids between 11.0 oBrix and 33.0 oBrix and pH between 3.3 and 6.4. The icozeiro has a low medium size, being characterized as a shrubby plant, resistant to the edaphoclimatic weather of the region, remaining green, producing flowers and fruits in periods of drought. With regards to fruits, they presented aspects that are compatible with the requirements for industrial processing and fresh consumption in the domestic consumer market, which does not impede studies about their processing. Considering results presented and the domestic market, fresh consumption can be advantageous.