The objective of this study was to evaluate physical and chemical characteristics of bacury fruits collected from selected plants of occurrence in the Mid-North region. The following fruit characteristics were analysed: length e width; average weight; average polp weight; length to width ratio; peel thickness; percentage of peel; percentage of polp; percentage of seed; number of seeds/fruit; number of partenocarpic section/fruit; total soluble solids content; titratable acidity, and total soluble solids content to titratable acidity ratio. Fruits were collected from 26 selected plants mapped in nine locations in Piauí and Maranhão States. Physical and chemical fruit characterizatics were evaluated at the Plant Physiology Laboratory of Embrapa Meio-Norte, in Teresina, PI, Brazil. Fruit samples used varied in size according to the availability of fruit production from each selected plant. The variance analysis indicated significant effects for collect local and selected plants for all characteristics analysed, except for the number of partenocarpic section/fruit for which did not have local effect. Average fruit weight and average polp weight; average fruit weight and fruit width; average polp weight and fruit width; fruit length and peel thickness; fruit length and percentage of peel; peel thickness and percentage of peel; and average fruit weight and fruit length showed high values for phenotypic correlations (rP ³ 0.85). Repeatability estimates varied from 0.50 (% POLP) to 0.98 (ATT) indicated large amount of variation for the characteristics analysed compared to permanent environment.
Platonia insignis; selection; tropical fruit tree
