-The present work aimed at evaluating the divergence among common bean accessions by their agronomic, morphological and molecular traits, based on the Ward-MLM procedure. A collection of 57 accessions from the gene bank of Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo was used in this study, from which: 31 were landraces belonging to the community Fortaleza, in the municipality of Muqui, ES, Brazil; 20 accessions were provided by Embrapa Trigo; and 6 were commercial cultivars. Five agronomic traits (plant cycle, number of seeds per pod, number of pods per plant, weight of 100 seeds, and grain yield), five morphological traits (growth habit, plant size, seed shape, seed color, and commercial group) and 16 microsatellite primers were evaluated. High genetic variability was detected considering morphological, agronomic and molecular traits in the 57 common bean accessions studied. The Ward-MLM procedure showed that the ideal number of groups was five, according to the pseudo F and pseudo t 2 criteria. The accessions from Andean origin had heavier seeds than others and formed a cluster. The Ward-MLM statistical procedure is a useful technique to detect genetic divergence and to cluster genotypes by simultaneously using morphological, agronomic and molecular data.Index terms: Phaseolus vulgaris, genetic diversity, germplasm characterization, joint analysis, molecular markers, morphological markers. Quantificação da diversidade entre acessos de feijoeiro-comum com uso da estratégia Ward-MLMResumo -O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a divergência de acessos de feijoeiro-comum por suas características agronômicas, morfológicas e moleculares, com base no procedimento Ward-MLM. Uma coleção de 57 acessos do banco de germoplasma da Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo foi utilizada neste estudo, dos quais: 31 acessos locais, pertencentes à comunidade Fortaleza, no Município de Muqui, ES; 20 acessos fornecidos pela Embrapa Trigo; e 6 cultivares comerciais. Foram avaliados cinco caracteres agronômicos (ciclo da planta, número de sementes por vagem, número de vagens por planta, peso de 100 grãos e produtividade de grãos), cinco caracteres morfológicos (hábito de crescimento, porte da planta, formato da semente, cor da semente e grupo comercial) e 16 iniciadores microssatélites. Detectou-se ampla variabilidade genética pelos dados morfológicos, agronômicos e moleculares nos 57 acessos de feijão. O procedimento Ward-MLM mostrou que cinco foi o número ideal de grupos, de acordo com os critérios do pseudo F e pseudo t 2 . Os acessos de origem andina tiveram sementes mais pesadas do que os outros e ficaram em um mesmo grupo. O procedimento Ward-MLM é uma técnica útil para detectar divergência genética e agrupar genótipos pelo uso simultâneo de descritores morfológicos, agronômicos e moleculares.

The cultivated passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa) is a cross-pollinated species native to South America. In the current study, a segregating F1 population derived from a single cross between the clones IAPAR-06 and IAPAR-123 was used to construct AFLP-based linkage maps and to map resistance genes to bacterial spot caused by Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. passiflorae. Linkage analysis was performed by the 2-way pseudo-testcross mapping method using markers that segregated in a 1:1 ratio. The IAPAR-06 linkage map was constructed using 115 markers, 112 of which were allocated to 9 linkage groups (LG) covering 790.2 cM. The map of IAPAR-123 was constructed using 140 markers, 138 of which were allocated to 9 LG covering 488.9 cM. In both maps, clusters of markers were detected, indicating that the AFLP markers were not distributed at random. Bacterial resistance was assessed by measuring the diseased leaf area after wound-inoculating the leaves of F1 plants. Quantitative resistance loci (QRLs) mapping was carried out by composite interval mapping and 1 QRL was detected, which explained 15.8% of the total phenotypic variation. The possibility of considering these data for marker-assisted selection in passion fruit breeding programs is discussed.

Estimation of general and specific combining ability effects in a diallel analysis of cross-pollinating populations, including the selfed parents, is presented in this work. The restrictions considered satisfy the parametric values of the GCA and SCA effects. The method is extended to self-pollinating populations (suitable for other species, without the selfed parents). The analysis of changes in population means due to inbreeding (sensitivity to inbreeding) also permits to assess the predominant direction of dominance deviations and the relative genetic variability in each parent population. The methodology was used to select popcorn populations for intra-and inter-population breeding programs and for hybrid production, developed at the Federal University of Viçosa, MG, Brazil. Two yellow pearl grain popcorn populations were selected.

Turfgrass cultivation is a multi-purpose popular practice, associated with life quality of urban populations in consequence of its capability of providing safe, pleasant environments, suitable for recreational and sportive activities. Additionally, it plays relevant environmental functions. For these reasons, turfgrasses constitute an important segment of the agribusiness in many countries. In Brazil, the importance of this type of cultivation has increased in spite of the reduced number of available turfgrass cultivars. Research programs aiming the exploitation of his ample genetic diversity could promote Brazil to the forefront of this type of agriculture in the tropical world. In this work, we discussed and proposed degrees of relevance for different characteristics of grass plants destined for use as permanent ground coverage under a variety of Brazilian situations.

The aim of this study was to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters in a population of yellow passion fruit for determining its potential for genetic improvement, as well as to establish strategies for selection. The basic material comprises a sample of 100 F1 plants derived from a single cross between the accessions `IAPAR-06' and `IAPAR-123', which are genetically divergent. The experimental evaluation was performed in a 10 × 10 triple lattice design. At harvest, yield and number of fruit were evaluated, as well as other traits related to fruit quality. Results indicated that the population displays wide genetic variability, with coefficients of heritability on a genotype mean basis varying from 52.6% to 83.2%. High and positive genetic correlations were detected between yield and number of fruit and for combinations of the traits weight, length, and width of the fruit. Negative genetic correlations were found between the soluble solids content and the other traits. The relevance of the results from such a divergent cross to a commercial breeding program is discussed.