Variation among tree tomato (Solanum betaceum Cav.) accessions from different cultivar groups: implications for conservation of genetic resources and breeding

Tree tomato ( Solanum betaceum , Solanaceae) is a neglected small tree native to the Andean region used for its edible and juicy fruits. We have elaborated a list of 39 quantitative morphological descriptors for different plant parts (plant architecture, leaf, inflorescence and flower, infructescence and fruit, and seed) and have used them to characterize 24 accessions of tree tomato from different origins corresponding to five cultivar groups: orange, orange pointed, purple, red, and red conical. Several parameters, including range, maximum/minimum value ratio, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, and broad-sense heritability, as well as analyses of variance, have been used to validate the utility of the descriptors, which have proved useful for the characterization of this crop. Significant ( P