Factor analysis for plant and production variables in Coffea canephorain the Western Amazon

Abstract

The evaluation of morphological characters related to the hulled coffee yield subsidizes the selection of Coffea canephora plants that combine a set of favorable traits. However, the greater the number of traits considered, the more difficult the selection process becomes. In this context, multivariate analyzes can be useful to overcome this problem. The aim of this study was to identify, in a set of agronomic traits of Coffea canephora, the determining factors of biological phenomena and use these factors to recognize patterns of diversity and similarity from biological complexes of interest to the breeder. To this, eleven morphological descriptors were evaluated of 130 clones of the botanical varieties Conilon and Robusta and intervarietal hybrids over two crop years in the experimental field of Embrapa, in the municipality of Ouro Preto do Oeste, state of Rondônia (RO). To group the traits, the multivariate technique of Factor Analysis was used. The effect of genotype x year interaction was significant for the eleven traits analyzed. Based on the scree plot, three factors were established. Factors were interpreted as architecture, vigor and grains with a satisfactory percentage of explained variability. The inter-pretation of the factors highlighted the importance of the Conilon variety to improve the architecture of the Robusta botanical variety. These results show that it is possible to use factor scores to identify varieties and traits that favor higher production of hulled coffee.