Detection of quantitative trait loci for physical traits of cashew apple
Francisco Herberth Costa dos Santos, José Jaime Vasconcelos Cavalcanti, and Fanuel Pereira da Silva
The identification of loci controlling quantitative traits (QTL) and marker-assisted selection have attracted great interest in breeding programs for fruit quality. This study aimed to identify QTLs related to the quality of cashew apple. Physical analysis were carried out in cashew fruits of 66 F1 plants from the cross of CCP 1001 x CP 96. Seven traits related to color, size and weight of the cashew apple were tested for QTLs. Candidate QTLs were identified by the methods of interval mapping and multiple QTL mapping. Thirty QTLs associated with cashew quality were identified. The lowest number of QTL (two) was detected for the trait red intensity, and the highest (seven) for cashew apple weight. The QTLs explained between 3.15% and 21.33% of the total phenotypic variation and are being evaluated for future use in marker-assisted selection.