Produção de frutos, sementes e teor de óleo fixo em progênies de sacha-inchi (Plukenetia volubilis L.)

Abstract

Plukenetia volubilis L., popularly known as "sacha-inchi", "inca-inchi", "mountain peanut", "lopo peanut" and "Inca nut", is a perennial species of the Euphorbiaceae family. Its main product of interest is its seeds (54% oil and 27% protein), used for the extraction of a natural fixed oil rich in omega-3, 6 and 9. The objective of this work was to identify sacha-inchi cultivars with high fruit and seed production, resistance to Fusarium sp., and high oil content and quality in the seeds. The work was conducted in the experimental field of Embrapa Amazônia. The experimental design was a randomized block design with 36 progenies and 16 replications, with one plant per plot. The characterization of the fixed oil in relation to the content and composition of fatty acids was performed by gas chromatography, and the estimates of the genetic parameters for the production traits were obtained by REML/BLUP mixed models. The plants showed flowering approximately 62 days after planting and fruit maturation 161 days after planting. The oil content of the seeds ranged from 43.55 to 52.34%, with an average extraction yield of 49.47% and 89.87% of the total composed of unsaturated fatty acids. Narrow-sense heritability (h²a) varied among the traits, being considered moderate to high for the number of fruits (0.504) and the number of seeds (0.48). The accuracy of the selection was high for the number of fruits (0.84) and the number of seeds (0.83), indicating reliability in the estimates obtained and potential for success with phenotypic selection. The values of the relative coefficient of variation demonstrate that the number of fruits (0.38) and the number of seeds (0.37) show greater potential for response to selection. The population's potential for breeding purposes was observed through gains of 90% in average population production, 87% in seed number production, and 58% in seed production, across the 20 superior genotypes.