Reproductive phenology, morphoagronomic variability, and selection of mother plants of Hancornia speciosa Gomes (Apocynaceae)

Abstract Hancornia speciosa is a fruit tree species with potential for exploitation, which makes the adoption of strategies related to its conservation and breeding relevant. Our study aimed to investigate the reproductive phenology, estimate genetic variability, and identify superior H. speciosa genotypes among the accessions that compose the germplasm collection of the Federal University of Goiás, Brazil. Experimental data were obtained from 143 individual accessions. Evaluation of reproductive phenology was conducted on an arbitrary scale of points assigned to trees monthly. Morphological characterization was based on a list of 20 qualitative descriptors and 12 quantitative traits. The dissimilarity between and within botanical varieties and their correlation with the geographic distance of the origin populations were investigated. Analysis of variance components was performed using the Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction procedure using two linear models. The selection of the ≈ 10% best individual accessions was performed considering genetic and genotypic values. With the exception of H. speciosa var. speciosa, the botanical varieties that compose the germplasm collection showed similar reproductive patterns, with a peak in fruit appearance in August. Morphological dissimilarity was smaller within botanical varieties. Among the botanical varieties, dissimilarity was generally positively correlated with the geographic distance. The adoption of a multivariate selection index procedure enables the prediction of genetic gains, resulting in the selection of genotypes from different similarity groups. Clone selection is the most promising strategy for the improvement of H. speciosa, ensuring a better response to selection in the short term than recurrent selection.