Flowering and fruiting phenology of peach palm elite line cultivated at Planalto Paulista

• Grant number: 13/17123-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): October 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): September 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Valéria Aparecida Modolo
• Grantee: Jorge Fernando Staine
• Host Institution: Instituto Agronômico (IAC). Agência Paulista de Tecnologia dos Agronegócios (APTA). Secretaria de Agricultura e Abastecimento (São Paulo - Estado). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Work to set up the Active Germplasm Bank at the IAC began in 1973, with the introduction of peach palm accessions from Brazilian Amazonia, Costa Rica and Peru. New accessions were acquired in the 1980s, mainly of spineless peach palm from the Yurimaguas region of Peru, sent by INPA. The third and last prospecting expedition to the Yurimaguas was made in 1990, with the introduction of seeds of 332 progenies, expanding the genetic base available. However, in order to the hybridization can be done through crosses between elite lines much knowledge on flowering and fruiting under subtropical conditions is required. In that sense, not experimental observations over the years in peach palm Active Germplasm Banks in different edaphoclimatic regions in São Paulo state, Brazil, suggested that the flowering and fruiting habit was variable according to the progeny, not matching the ones described in literature for the species natural habitats. This work will carried out aiming to study the habit of flowering and fruiting of peach palm progenies from the Instituto Agronômico (IAC) Active Germplasm Bank (BAG), at Polo Centro Norte, São Paulo State, Brazil. Data will be collected from 300 progenies to verify the presence or absence of two phenophases: flowering (the onset of 2/3 of the floral spathe) and fruiting (presence of new fruits or ripe ones in at least one bunch/plant). For data analysis, the activity index or the percentages of individuals were used, which consider only the presence or the absence of the phenophases on plants. The method also estimates the synchronicity among the individuals of a population. Phenology will be related with the climate of the experimental region, using the climate data from CIIAGRO. It is worth mentioning that since 2010, a similar experiment has being carried out in the Active Germplasm Colletion located in Pariquera-açu (SP), Brazil in the Vale do Ribeira region, and thus allowing the results to be compared between both regions. Therefore, besides contributing to the peach palm breeding program, the results may propitiate important information to improve the seeds production in São Paulo state.