505 AJCS 15(04):505-509 (2021) ISSN:1835-2707 doi: 10.21475/ajcs.21.15.04.p2749 Physical characterization of gabiroba fruits (Campomanesia adamantium) from Brazil neotropical savanna Elias Emanuel Silva Mota 1 , Italo Marcelino Mateus 1 , Luciana Borges e Silva 2 , Kátia Freitas Silva* 2 , Elitânia Gomes Xavier 1 , Joseanny Cardoso da Silva Pereira 1 , Camila Cardoso 1 1 Evangelical College of Goianésia – Faceg, CEP 76380-000, Goianésia, GO, Brazil 2 Goiano Federal Institute, Ceres Campus, CEP 76300-000, Ceres, GO, Brazil *Corresponding author: kfreitas2013@outlook.com Abstract Gabiroba is a species with potential for commercial cultivation due to its desirable agronomic characteristics, such as high yield and high levels of soluble solids. The objective of this study was to characterize fruits and seeds phenotypically and to evaluate the genetic structure in three natural subpopulations of Campomanesia adamantium, based on quantitative data. Fruits of gabiroba plants from three subpopulations were collected, sampling 10 mother plants per subpopulation, with collection of at least 10 fruits per matrix, totaling 300 fruits. Physical characterization data of fruits and seeds were submitted to descriptive analysis, analysis of variance and correlation among characters. There was significant variation for the length, width and fruit mass in C. adamantium at all hierarchical levels evaluated: among subpopulations and among mother plants within subpopulations. Most of the variation, for the three variables under study is found among fruits within mother plant, and then, there is greater variation among mother plants within subpopulation. The levels of variation found within the subpopulations were low. The correlation analysis demonstrated the existence of positive and high correlations between the variables such as, fruit length and fruit width, fruit length and fruit mass, fruit width and fruit mass. For a possible breeding program and / or conservation of the species, it is recommended to represent large number of subpopulations to ensure an adequate representativeness of the observed variability. Keywords: Fruit and seed morphology; Cerrado; Phenotypic variation; Genetic structure. Introduction Gabiroba (Campomanesia adamantium O. Berg) belongs to the Myrtaceae family, which has approximately 26 genera and 1000 species described in the Brazilian flora (Souza and Lorenzzi, 2008). Gabiroba trees occur in abundance in phytophysiognomies, cerrado, cerradão, dirty camp (Silva et al., 2001) and rural physiognomies (Durigan et al., 2004). C. adamantium is a shrub that can reach up to 2.0 m in height. They have solitary and androgynous flowers, formed from September to October with fruit ripening in the months of November and December (Durigan et al., 2004; Lorenzzi et al., 2006), it is also found in grouped populations, has annual fruiting and blooms for a short period of time (Silva et al., 2001). Its fruits have a round shape, ranging in color from dark green to light green and yellow, with a sweet and quite pleasant aroma (Vallilo et al., 2006). It is a species with potential for commercial cultivation due to its high yield and high levels of soluble solids (brix) (Melchior et al., 2006) and high nutritional composition (Vallilo et al., 2006). Its fruits have the potential to be used in natura in the food industry and as flavorings in the beverage industry due to its juiciness, mineral content, fiber and interesting bioactive substances from the nutritional and functional point of view, as phenolic compounds (Viscardi et al., 2016). It is considered a medicinal plant for its anti-diarrheal, purifying, anti-rheumatic properties, indicated for reducing the level of cholesterol in the blood. Its peels and leaves are used in the form of teas (Biavati et al., 2004). Sá et al. (2017) still report that oils extracted from gabiroba flowers and leaves have antifungal activities. This species, originally abundant in its habitat, today, is under strong pressure due to the impact caused by the fragmentation of its subpopulations, either by inadequate extraction or by the expansion of agricultural borders (Durigan et al., 2004). Thus, it is necessary to know about the genetic diversity of the species and aspects related to its propagation. Studies of fruit biometrics and the germinative behavior of seeds are important for understanding the genetic variability between populations of the same species, and the relation between this variability and environmental factors can, therefore, be used in genetic improvement programs (Carvalho et al., 2003). The objective of the current study was to characterize phenotypically the fruits and seeds and to evaluate the genetic structure in three natural subpopulations of Campomanesia adamantium, based on quantitative data, contributing to conservation measures and aid in future genetic improvement programs for the species.