Heritability of Morph-Agronomic Traits in Cocona (Solanum sessiliflorum Dunal) and Early Visual Selection for Productivity

Cocona is a semi-perennial shrub from the Amazon that produces acidic edible fruits. There is little information about the genetic parameters of this species, as well as the efficiency of visual selection for productivity. Therefore, this work aimed to estimate the heritability of 13 morph-agronomic traits in two F2 families (Pop 1 and Pop 2). A total of 250 plants from each family and 13 control plants (CUB-4) were planted in Central Amazon. One week before the first harvest, all morph-agronomic evaluations were conducted, and 45 plants from Pop 1 and 80 from Pop 2 were visually selected for fruit productivity. The results showed heritabilities greater than zero for most plant and fruit characteristics, with the highest values observed for the number of flowers per plant (0.88), petiole length (0.87), collar diameter (0.71), canopy diameter (0.58), and fruit length (0.55). The efficiency of visual selection for fruit productivity was 64% in Pop 1 and 65% in Pop 2. These findings suggest the efficiency of phenotypic selection, early visual selection for fruit productivity, and recommend the selection of fruit size and shape from F2 generation onwards because the maternal effect is strong in F1.