Variability of Fruit Quality among 103 Acerola (Malpighia emarginata D. C.) Phenotypes from the Subtropical Region of Brazil

Acerola fruit is one of the richest natural sources of ascorbic acid. As a consequence,acerola fruit and its products are in demand worldwide for the production of health supplementsand for the development of functional products. Acerola phenotypes (103) were screened in WesternParaná State, in the Southern region of Brazil, and evaluated to obtain information on fruit qualitycharacteristics with the aim of using them in future breeding programs. Principal Component andHierarchical Cluster analysis were performed on all datasets to explore the variability among samplesand to identify the main clusters. A great variability among phenotypes was observed, withpotential for use in breeding programs. Seven phenotypes were selected as candidates in the nextbreeding program, characterized by high vitamin C content and yield, or higher values of fruit sizeand color parameters. Four belong to cluster 1 and three to cluster 2. Specifically, two phenotypes,belonging to cluster 2, showed the best performance in terms of vitamin C (2150 mg 100 g?1 pulpand 2625 mg 100 g?1 pulp respectively) and pulp yield (74.8% and 82.3% respectively), and one phenotype,belonging to cluster 1, for high pulp yield, fruit size and vitamin C content (80.3% 6.43 g and2490 mg 100 g?1 pulp).