ABSTRACT
The present study was carried out to estimate some genetic parameters and apply the principal components technique as a support for selection of several traits in erva-mate. Heritability estimates were significant for most of the evaluated traits suggesting possibility of great genetic gains with simple selection techniques. The shaft height trait showed high coefficient of variation, low heritability and low correlation with the other ones. Beside that, this trait showed to have the lowest contribution to the total variation of the data, as demonstrated by principal components, and could be discarded. Plant height and crown diameter, on the other hand, accounted for the most part of the detected variation.
Key words:
principal components; Ilex paraguariensis; genetics parameters