GENETIC, MORPHOLOGICAL, AND PHYTOCHEMICAL DIFFERENTIATION OF “CARNAVAL” - A NEW HOP CULTIVAR ADAPTED TO TROPICAL ENVIRONMENT

The global hops market generates approximately US$8 billion annually, primarily driven by beer production, the world’s most consumed beverage. Despite this global demand, hop cultivation remains concentrated in temperate regions. Brazil, the third-largest beer consumer, imports over 99% of its hops. This study aimed to technically validate a new tropicalized hop cultivar, “Carnaval,” developed over six years of breeding and genetic improvement to adapt the crop to Brazilian conditions. A comparative analysis was conducted between Carnaval and two commercial varieties, Comet and Cascade, evaluating morphological traits, production potential, phytochemical composition via GC-MS, and genotyping using 10,541 SNP markers obtained through dd-GBS on the Illumina® NextSeq™ 1000/2000 platform. Carnaval exhibited clear genotypic and phenotypic distinctiveness, with notable differences in cone, leaf, and branch morphology, as well as in alpha (14.0%) and beta (6.9%) acid content and essential oil concentration (0.61%), comprising over 35 components—mainly myrcene, α-humulene, selinene, and caryophyllene. Productivity reached 478 kg/ha, comparable to commercial cultivars. Genetic analyses revealed high diversity (HS = 0.35), and population structure showed Carnaval grouping with its female parent Zeus but with distinct genomic characteristics. These findings confirm Carnaval’s unique identity and its adaptation to tropical conditions, making it a promising alternative for domestic hop production in Brazil.