The objective of the present study was to estimate the phenotypic correlations between the number of fruits per bunch and 22 characters evaluated in banana (AA) diploid hybrids. The experiment was carried out at Embrapa Cassava and Fruits in randomized blocks with four repetitions and 11 (AA) banana diploid hybrids were evaluated. The following characteristics were evaluated: plant height, pseudostem diameter, number of suckers, number of leaves during flowering, plant cycle until emission of the bunch, presence of pollen, bunch and rachis weight, yellow Sigatoka at bunch emission, number of leaves at harvest, yellow Sigatoka at bunch harvest, number of days from emission to harvest, length and diameter of stem, weight of second hand, number of hands and fruits per bunch, pedicellum fragility, length and diameter of fruit and length of pedicellum and presence of seeds. Correlation studies between the number of fruits and the other plant characteristics were carried out. These correlations varied between genotypes; therefore, it was observed that the associations between number of fruits and vegetative characteristics of plants were, in general, non-significant. However, the relationships between the number of fruits per bunch and the other production characteristics were predominantly significant.
Musa acuminata; variability; breeding
