Agromorphological analysis of yellow passion fruit cultivars in Boyacá: basis for the selection of promising materials

Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa, commonly known as yellow passion fruit, is a tropical species of great economic and nutritional value due to its high content of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and bioactive compounds. Although work has been done in Colombia to identify and characterize the germplasm of this species, there is still no improved genetic material adapted to the main producing municipalities. The objective of this study was to agromorphologically characterize yellow passion fruit cultivars in Miraflores, Boyacá, to identify promising genotypes using 20 qualitative and 26 quantitative descriptors evaluated in leaf, stem, flower, and fruit. Descriptive, multivariate, cluster, and mixed analyses were performed. A selection index was used to identify superior genotypes. The results showed that fruit weight had the highest coefficient of variation (65.60%), followed by petal length (45.67%). Positive and significant correlations were observed between peel weight, peel thickness, and equatorial and longitudinal fruit diameters, as well as between pulp weight, juice weight, and seed number. High phenotypic segregation was found for the traits of fruit color, shape, and the presence of pigments. Mixed multivariate analyses showed that fruit-associated characteristics, such as the presence or absence of pigments, contribute most to the observed variation. The selection index allowed the selection of cultivars 17 (241.19 g) and 18 (239.50 g) as promising genotypes within genetic improvement programs for the species.