PRODUCTION POTENTIAL AND HETEROSIS IN NEW PAPAYA HYBRIDS

Heterosis, or hybrid vigor, appears as a promising solution to improve production and resistance to biotic and abiotic factors. This study investigated the productive potential of new papaya hybrids, with Formosa, Intermediate and Solo patterns. The experiment evaluated varietal heterosis in 46 papaya hybrids from the UENF-CALIMAN breeding program, together with three commercial cultivars (Vitória, Candy and THB). The Formosa, Solo and Intermediate hybrid groups presented negative PROD values in relation to HV1 and HV2, but positive values in relation to HV3. This suggests the possibility of obtaining hybrids in these groups with lower productivity than the commercial cultivars 'Vitória' and 'Candy', but higher than the 'THB' variety. The hybrids that stood out for presenting the highest positive values in terms of HV1, HV2 and HV3 were UC36, UC44 and UC30 of the Formosa standard, UC55, UC38 and UC59 of the Intermediate standard and UC56 and UC32 of the Solo standard. Most Solo hybrids had excellent production averages compared to HV3. These findings indicate that new papaya hybrids, especially those in the Solo pattern, have the potential to increase productivity and profit potential over existing commercial cultivars.