REPEATABILITY TRAITS OF PEACH FRUITS

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to estimate the coefficients of repeatability in peach and nectarine cultivars, and predict the number of required measurements for main fruit traits. Fourteen chemical and physical characteristics of fruits were measured in three cycles. The repeatability coefficients, the number of measurements required and the coefficient of determination were performed by the method of analysis of variance (ANOVA). For each trait, the minimum number of measurements topredict the actual value of the cultivars was determined. Genetic variability was observed among genotypes. Repeatability estimates were high, showing the regularity of cultivars. Measurements in four fruits and four years of evaluation are needed to predict the actual value of fruit characters with reliability above 80%.

Index terms
Prunus persica; number of measurement; breeding