PHENOTYPIC VARIABILITY IN POPULATIONS OF Acrocomia totai Mart.: UNDERSTANDING FOR EFFECTIVE SELECTION

This study assessed phenotypic variability in fruit traits, reproductive and vegetative traits, as well as oil productivity, pulp mass, and endosperm protein across three populations of Acrocomia totai from Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), São Paulo (SP), and Paraná (PR). The objective was to elucidate variability patterns and aid in species improvement through selection. Fifteen individuals (n=45) from each population and nine fruits from an individual bunch (n=405) were utilized. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) indicated that intrapopulational variability predominates in fruit traits, with the exception of oil and protein content. In contrast, reproductive and vegetative traits exhibited greater interpopulational variability. Given that A. totai is an outcrossing species, selection of individuals from populations with higher average values is considered more effective for traits with higher interpopulational variability. Therefore, traits more amenable to selection include oil content, protein, pulp mass, fruit number, spathes, bunches, leaves, and stem height. However, selection should also consider individual productivity, which will be maximized with the optimal combination of these traits. The MS population significantly excelled in pulp productivity, oil (5.36 ± 3.38 kg/plant), and protein, key products of interest in A. totai, primarily due to the number of bunches, suggesting that this trait warrants special attention. The selection gain (GS = S ∙ h^2; hypothetical estimate with h^2 = 0.46) for oil productivity with five selected individuals would be highest in MS (2.92), resulting in an increase of 1.168 kg/ha (400 plants/ha). It is concluded that variability is high in A. totai populations, but the pattern of inter/intra variability differs between fruit traits and vegetative-reproductive traits. Economically important traits are highly amenable to interpopulational selection, achieving significant gains in the first cycle.