Desempenho produtivo e parâmetros genéticos das cultivares de nogueira-pecã

Abstract

The cultivation of the pecan tree, Carya illinoinensis, has increased in Rio Grande do Sul, requiring more research and technical information for the development of the crop. There are several pecan cultivars, but it is necessary to verify the adaptation of these materials in different growing regions. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize the agronomic performance and quality of nuts from different pecan cultivars, aiming to identify the cultivation potential of the cultivars in the Western Border region of Rio Grande do Sul. For this purpose, the tests carried out are presented in two articles. Article one entitled “Phenology and Productivity of Pecan Cultivars” aimed to determine the phenological development and productivity of eight pecan cultivars. The study was carried out between the 2020 and 2023 harvests on the cultivars Barton, Desirable, Elliot, Jackson, Mohawk, Shoshoni, Stuart and Success. The cultivar Elliot obtained the highest production rate in the first harvest, while 'Barton' obtained it in the second harvest and 'Barton' and 'Elliot' in the third harvest evaluated. The highest results for nut yield were for 'Barton' in the first harvest, in the second harvest were the cultivars Barton, Elliot and Jackson and in the third harvest 'Barton' and 'Elliot'. Article 2 entitled “Genetic parameters, selection gains and correlations between Carya illinoinensis traits using mixed models” aimed to estimate the genetic parameters of Carya illinoinensis cultivars using the restricted maximum likelihood-residual maximum likelihood (REML) methodology and carry out selection based on the best linear partial-best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP), in addition to testing the association between productivity traits and fruit quality. It was found that most of the characters evaluated in this study showed a significant genotypic effect. The influence of the genotype x environment interaction on the productive and quality traits of nuts was verified. However, these effects were not observed in agronomic traits. Production per plant and productivity per hectare showed positive correlations with productive efficiency in relation to canopy volume. Thus, genetic improvement of pecan trees can be a valuable strategy to improve the production and commercialization of nuts.