Genotype selection of Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H.E. Moore & Stearn, under a multivariate framework

The pouteria sapota, also popularly known as sapote or mamey sapote, is a fruit tree of sapotaceae family originally from the tropical region of Central America with a great importance due to the almost complete utilization of the tree (fruit, seeds and wood) by industries. Thus, the study of its features becomes indispensable for selecting the most promising genotypes to increase the profitability of its production. In this study, it was used a dataset of 63 sapote trees placed in the botanical garden of Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), located in Turrialba, Costa Rica. 17 quantitative characteristics were measured from trees, in order to evaluate the yield potential through the application of two multivariate statistical techniques: factor analysis (FA) and cluster analysis (CA). Firstly, the FA was performed and the 17 initial characteristics were reduced to four common factors that might describe particular characteristics like “fruit”, “seed”, “wood” and “leaf”. Thereafter, a CA was performed, with scores of FA, allowing the formation of five groups of trees with different traits. This methodology revealed the most promising trees in the economic point of view for every industry that uses the tree as raw material