Fruit and seed biometry of cambuí (Myciaria tenella O. Berg)

Abstract

The cambuí tree (Myciaria tenella O. Berg) is native to Brazil and the fruits are harvested by extraction for fresh consumption in state of Sergipe (Brazil). Because of the regional importance of the species, this work aims to characterize the cambuí fruits and seeds. The fruits were harvested mature from the Reserva do Caju Experimental Field, on Itaporanga d'Ajuda (Sergipe, Brazil), belonging to Embrapa Coastal Tablelands. We analyzed biometrically 200 fruits and seeds. In addition, we evaluated the fruit, pulp, and seed color based on RHS Color Chart. We found two different fruits skin colors: 1. yellow [orange - red (group 32A)] with yellow pulp [yellow - orange (group 17A)]; and 2. purple [violet - blue (group 93A)] with red pulp [red - purple (group 60A)]. The seeds have only one color, green [yellow-green (group 152A)] with dark stripes [Brown (group 200C)]. The fruits mean diameter was 9.23 mm/fruit, and mean width 8.50 mm/fruit. The seeds mean diameter was 5.34 mm/seed, mean width 6.52 mm/seed and thickness 5.08 mm/seed. The cambuí seeds are highly variable as previsously expected, because it is a native species without any type of management.