PARAMÊTROS GENÉTICOS E DIVERSIDADE EM TESTE DE PROGÊNIES E PROCEDÊNCIAS DE BARUEIRO MEDIANTE CARACTERÍSTICAS MORFOLÓGICAS E FISIOLÓGICAS

Abstract

The objective of this work was to provide fundamentals and support for actions of use and conservation of baru tree, evaluating characteristics of initial development in a test of progeny and provenances. This work is divided into two chapters, the first one aims to estimate genetic parameters for growth traits, while the second one aims to estimate the genetic diversity betwen progenies through the combined use of morphological and physiological characters, in addition to determine which characteristics most contribute to the progenies differentiation. The work was carried out in the ex-situ barueiro germplasm bank installed at the Instituto Federal Goiano – Rio Verde campus, consisting of 31 half-sibling progenies from four origins in the state of Goiás. Namely: Bom Jardim de Goiás, Ipameri, Iporá and Urutaí. The progenies were evaluated for morphological (plant height and stem diameter) and physiological (chlorophyll index and photochemical parameters) characters. To estimate the genetic parameters, the characters were analyzed using the mixed model methodology - REML (Restricted Maximum Likelihood) / BLUP (Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) procedure. For genetic diversity estimation, the data were analyzed according to their importance to diversity and then clustered through the UPGMA dendrogram using the generalized Mahalanobis distance. Photochemical characters proved to be more influenced by the environment than morphological characters, showing low magnitude and great variation of heritability estimates throughout the year. However, despite the photochemical characters being environmental stress responses, they were expressed differently among themselves and between chlorophyll indices. The characters that most contributed to the discrimination of the progenies were the chlorophyll index in both seasons. These results obtained with the genetic parameters estimation and quantification of the genetic divergence between the progenies under study will serve as a basis for future management and conservation strategies for the species itself and may serve as a model for other species.