Caracterização da diversidade de pimentas (Capsicum spp.) como ferramenta na conservação da espécie

Abstract

The characterization of peppers is an important tool in the process of conservation of the species in situ conditions and that can be important for improvement purposes. The objective of this work was to characterize the diversity of peppers collected in the city of Manaus (3°6'10.11'' S and 60°2'45.42'' O) and the municipalities of Rio Preto da Eva (2°41'56.19'' S and 59°41'43.10'' O) do Alto Rio Negro and Iranduba (3°16'29.71'' S and 60°11'1.67'' O) on the left bank of the Rio Solimões, using qualitative and quantitative descriptors. Fruits and seeds of 23 pepper genotypes were evaluated using eight quantitative and twelve qualitative descriptors. The data obtained were used in the analysis of variance (ANOVA), descriptive analysis, Pearson correlation analysis, Principal Coordinate Analysis (PCoA), and the UPGMA method (Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic Mean). There was a significant difference between the genotypes for all descriptors evaluated. The PCoAs and UPGMA grouping methods were efficient in the differentiation of genotypes when using quantitative and qualitative descriptors of fruits and seeds, allowing the identification of significant differences between the genotypes and the separation into four distinct groups. In general, the data obtained confirm the existence of genetic variability available in the State of Amazonas, as well as an important indicator of diversity in Capsicum of interest for breeding programs.