Phenotypic characterisation of the germplasm bank of mangaba (Hancornia speciosa Gomes), a unique Brazilian native fruit, with emphasis on its high vitamin C content

Mangaba (Hancornia speciosa Gomes) is a native fruit of Brazil that has high antioxidant activity and may benefit human health. The goal of this study was to discriminate between accessions in the germplasm bank of mangaba to improve its management. Eight morpho-agronomic traits were analysed in the ripe fruit of 36 genotypes taken from six accessions, and descriptive analyses were undertaken using Pearson correlation analysis, principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. The highest correlation coefficients were obtained between fruit size traits, and there was also a moderate correlation between the vitamin C content and number of seeds. PCA showed that 80.6% of the variability was explained by the first three principal components, to which all eight traits made significant contributions, while cluster analysis revealed considerable germplasm variation among the genotypes, which formed five distinct clusters: one cluster with a lower fresh mass (FM) and a mean vitamin C content of 410.09 mg·100 g −1 FM; one cluster with a higher FM and a mean vitamin C content of 363.85 mg·100 g −1 FM; and a further three clusters with a high FM, vitamin C content and soluble solids content, respectively. These findings on the vitamin C content and FM of these accessions will be useful for the agro-economic development of this native Brazilian species.