Morphological characterization of the Chicozapote (Manilkara zapota) of downtown Veracruz and Morelos, Mexico: basis for improvement

Abstract

In the state of Veracruz and Morelos, Mexico, the Manilkara zapota is used for fruit production. In addition, there are trees that show that they have been exploited for the extraction of latex. The objective of the research was to determine which morphological variables are the most appropriate to characterize the cultivated and creole materials of chicozapote present in the central region of the State of Veracruz and the State of Morelos, in order to review their potential as source material for the development of new varieties. Several morphological features of the leaf, flower, fruit and stem were evaluated by multivariate techniques (analysis of principal components, discriminant canonical analysis and cluster analysis). The variables that were most outstanding to characterize the evaluated chicozapote material were leaf width, flowers per bunch, width of fruit, length of peduncle of the fruit and weight of the fruit. Several Creole trees presented outstanding characteristics with exceptional quality to the fruit, such as oval or semioval shape; light brown color, slightly rough, with reddish brown pulp without lumps, medium to large size and a limited number of seeds, which must be rescued to form autochthonous improved varieties.