Nutritional Balance and Genetic Diversity of Coffea canephora Genotypes

Abstract

Our objectives were to study characteristics of the fruit (weight, percentage of husk/grain), to determine the concentration and accumulation of nutrients in the fruits, grain and husk, and to verify the existence of genetic diversity in Coffea canephora genotypes. The experiment was conducted with 20 genotypes in a four-year-old plantation, in a randomized block design with four replications and five plants per plot. The fruits were oven-dried, depulped (husk separated from the grain) and sent to a laboratory for nutritional analysis. Macronutrients N and K were the most accumulated/exported in fruits, respectively. In addition, the different genotype control cycles influenced the accumulation of nutrients in the fruits. There was genetic diversity among the 20 C. canephora genotypes, studied for the characteristics of concentration and percentage of grain/straw nutrients in the fruit. Genotypes 2, 8 and 13 were the ones with the greatest genetic distance, consequently they are the most dissimilar when compared to the other genotypes. Genotypes 8 and 1 stand out for having a higher proportion of fruit weight in relation to grains. Therefore, they are the genotypes that need a smaller amount of fruit to produce 1000 kg of ground coffee.

Phenotypic Diversity and Genetic Parameters of Coffea canephora Clones

“…Six groups have already been observed for the concentrations of chemical elements in the different plant tissues, leaves, flowers, and grains of 16 Robusta coffee genotypes, three of which contained only one genotype [6]. A similar result was obtained for the genetic diversity of chemical elements in the grains of 20 genotypes of C. canephora, in which, among the six formed groups in the detected cluster, three groups comprised a single genotype [16].…”

“…By obtaining divergent groups of species, clones, heterotic groups, and potential parents can be identified to determine crosses for characteristics of interest [16,17,29,33]. Genetic distance studies in C. canephora are essential for the selection of parents in planning strategies and advances in breeding programs.…”

“…The results regarding the contribution to genetic diversity show the most relevant chemical elements for the analysis and those that can be excluded for presenting low values [16,38]. The presence of natural trace elements (i.e., not intentionally introduced into the soil) that are in high concentrations and can be used for genotype discrimination helps to form a hypothesis regarding the selection of plants that absorb and accumulate these elements.…”

“…According to previous studies, genetic factors may affect nutrient availability tolerance, uptake efficiency [13], content accumulation in leaves and branches [11], and beverage quality [14]. The genetic variability as the absorption of chemical elements can be analyzed in controlled experiments [15,16]. It is possible to use multielemental analyses and estimate genetic parameters to select superior genotypes based on phenotypic diversity.…”