Surinam cherry crop is growing fastly in the Northeast region of Brazil due to its fruit uses by the industry in processing juice and pulp. However, one of the main problems of this crop is the lack of an apropriated cultivar adapted to such climate environments and irrigated conditions. This work was carried out aiming to study the performance of ten among 85 Surinam cherry accesses of IPA's germplasm collection cultivated under drip irrigation at the semi-arid region of Pernambuco State. The following characteristics were evaluated: growth, yield and fruit quality of plants originated from seedlings as well as from grafting. Surinam cherry trees have shown good adaptability to such environmental conditions, both in respect to plant growth characteristics as well as to yield and fruit quality. Accesses have shown great variability in relation to physical-chemical characteristics of fruits. Two promising materials were identified ¯ IPA-13.2 and IPA-1.1E, with better yielding and fruit quality characteristics.
Pitanga; selection; irrigation; plant adaptation; cultivar
