Selection of Genipa americana L. seed trees by genetic divergence in fruit, seeds, and seedlings

The understanding of the source’s genetic characteristics and their use in restoration projects is essential to maintaining restoration survival, mainly in tropical forests. Considering that genetics should be examined in forest restoration projects, analyses with phenotypic characters are more practical to implement in forest nurseries. Genipa americana L. is an essential species in producing seedlings for restoration purposes. This study aimed to select G. americana seed trees for seed collection in an area of the Atlantic Forest through the genetic divergence study in fruit, seeds, and seedlings. The study was conducted in the Saltinho Biological Reserve in Tamandaré - PE, Brazil. The ripe fruit of 11 G. americana seed trees were collected. The physical and physicochemical characterization of the fruit, biometric characterization of the seeds, and seed emergence analysis were performed. The Selegen REML/BLUP software, model 81, was used for genetic analyses, and the cluster analysis was performed by the unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA) method. A seed tree selection index was also used. The effects of the seed tree determination coefficients were low because there was considerable interaction between the sites where each one was inserted. It is possible to state that each variable contributes to explaining the genetic dissimilarity between the seed trees. Seed trees 1, 4, and 6 had the best average ranks for most of the variables analyzed concerning genotypes. The Saltinho Biological Reserve proved to be a good source of genetic and reproductive material for the species G. americana for forest restoration purposes.