Fruit biometry and pitombeira seed [Talisa esculenta (St. Hil) Radlk (Sapindaceae)]

Research on the biometry of fruits and seeds is relevant in the conservation and exploitation of economic value resources and in the evaluation of genetic variability within the species. However, there are few studies on biometry analysis of fruit and seed of Talisia esculenta (St. Hil) Radlk, popularly known as pitombeira. The objective of this study was to characterize the fruits and seeds of pitombeira. The study was developed at the Crop Science Laboratory of the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul, using 100 fruits and seeds randomly selected from 120 fruits. The fruit traits evaluated were: longitudinal length, width, thickness, fresh mass, dry mass, peel fresh mass and volume; and the seed traits assessed were: longitudinal length, width, fresh mass, dry mass and water content. There was a morphological difference between fruits and seeds. Fruit traits that presented lower and higher variability were the peel fresh mass and length, respectively, and for the seed traits were dry mass and length. The results indicate that there may be genetic variability among the harvested pitombeira fruits.