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. 2021 Oct 22;10(11):2255.
doi: 10.3390/plants10112255.

Phenotypic Diversity of Morphological Characteristics of Pitahaya (Selenicereus Megalanthus Haw.) Germplasm in Colombia

Ana Cruz Morillo-Coronado  1 , Elsa Helena Manjarres Hernández  1 , Lucimar Forero-Mancipe  1
Affiliations

Phenotypic Diversity of Morphological Characteristics of Pitahaya (Selenicereus Megalanthus Haw.) Germplasm in Colombia

Ana Cruz Morillo-Coronado et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Yellow pitahaya is an exotic fruit that is rich in essential nutrients and antioxidants. In Colombia, it grows naturally in warm areas, but it is not clear which species exist because this genus presents a lot of intra and interspecific hybridization. More studies are needed in this field along with characterizations of the genotypes. This study aimed to undertake an in situ morphoagronomic evaluation of yellow pitahaya genotypes from five municipalities in Boyacá, Colombia. Measurements were taken in a completely random design. Qualitative and quantitative descriptors for cladodes, fruits and covered production systems were evaluated with a descriptive analysis, Spearman correlation variance, and multivariate and cluster analysis. The results showed that cladode characteristics such as cladode width, distance between areoles, number of spines, length of areoles, margin ribs of cladode and waxiness could be used to identify Megalanthus spp. Characteristics such as weight (270-274 g), size (100 mm), color of the fruit and pulp as well as acidity (0.18) and soluble solids (15.7) were highly variable between the genotypes. Genotypes with good morphological and fruit characteristics were identified (Gen2 and Gen9), which can provide the bases for the selection of pitahaya that satisfy the needs of farmers and consumers.

Keywords: Selenicereus megalanthus; genetic diversity; germplasm; morphoagronomic descriptors; phenotypic variation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spearman’s correlation between quantitative variables. (a) Morphoagronomic variables. (b) Fruit variables.
Figure 2
Figure 2
(a) Principal component analysis biplot. (b) Hierarchical cluster analysis of yellow pitahaya fruit genotypes.
Figure 3
Figure 3
(a) Multiple correspondence analysis shows the contribution of qualitative variables. (b) Cluster analysis showing seven groups of yellow pitahaya materials formed according to qualitative variables.
Figure 4
Figure 4
(a) Mixed factor analysis shows the contribution of the variables, ordering the materials according to the qualitative and quantitative variables. (b) Cluster analysis. showing six groups of materials formed according to qualitative and quantitative variables.
Figure 5
Figure 5
(a) Variation in width of ribs of pitahaya filocladodes characterized by farms: 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 in the municipality of Miraflores, Russian village 2 municipality of Berbeo village Batatal; 7 municipality of Paéz, Yamuntá village. (b) Variation in pitahaya fruits characterized by farms: (1), (3), (4), (5), and (6) in the municipality of Miraflores vereda Rusa (2) municipality of Berbeo, Batatal district; (7) municipality of Paéz, Yamuntá village.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Geographic location of the province of Lengupá (Boyacá) Colombia and its municipalities.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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