Coffea arabica L. cv. Mundo Novo is the most outstanding coffee cultivars studied at the Instituto Agronômico, Campinas, State of São Paulo. Besides its rusticity, this cultivar has showed high yield capacity in all Brazilian coffee growing areas. In order to further diversify the Mundo Novo genetic background, new selection of mother trees was undertaken, in 1952, in six sites where former selections were made in Urupês, SP. Four groups of coffee progenies were planted to be compared at the Central Experimental Station, in Campinas, SP: 92 new selections (S1), 12 progenies of selected Mundo Novo (S2), 6 selected progenies of Bourbon Amarelo and 7 progenies of Bourbon Vermelho cultivars of C. arabica. The 117 progenies were planted in a randomized block design, with one-plant plots and 21 replications. Yield data were collected from individual plants during 33 consecutive annual harvests, from 1955 to 1987. Prior to the 1985 harvest, observations were made on the shape of plants, vegetative vigor (IAV index, 1 to 10 points varying from the worst to the best, respectively), fruit ripening (1 point for early, 3 for medium and 5 for late ripening, respectively), seed characteristics, such as flat beans, peaberry and elephant beans, and seed size. Significative differences were found in the yield inside and between progenies groups - Mundo Novo S1, Mundo Novo S2, Bourbon Amarelo and Bourbon Vermelho. The average yield of Mundo Novo S1 was 6% superior to the of Mundo Novo S2, and both groups of Mundo Novo S1 and S2 were more productive than Bourbon Amarelo (39 and 30%) and the progenies of Bourbon Vermelho (112 and 99%), respectively. Among the 30 highest Mundo Novo yield progenies, 4 belong to S2 and 26 to S1, Mundo Novo progenies, indicating the efficiency of the selection of S1 progenies. The highest yield Mundo Novo progenies have medium maturation. However individual plants in the progenies were classified as early, medium or late maturing plants. The Mundo Novo progeny CP447 gave larger number of plants with early fruit ripening and CP502 gave the highest number of late plants. All the best Mundo Novo progenies presented normal flat, peaberry and elephant beans seed percentages and seed size. The progeny CP474 gave several plants with larger seeds. The highest yield S2 Mundo Novo progenies such as P388-17, MP376-4 and the S1 CP502, CP515, CP474, CP447, CP501, CP543, CP475, CP464 and CP441 have already been multiplied in seed plots and are being extensively planted in all coffee regions of Brazil.
Coffee; breeding; Mundo Novo cultivar
