Performance of yerba mate progenies in Southern Brazil
Débora Caroline Defensor Benedito, Cristiane Aparecida Fioravante Reis, Paulo Alfonso Floss and Ivar Wendling
Abstract: The study evaluated the performance of yerba mate progenies in southern Brazil. It assessed the commercial biomass yield (in kilograms per plant) of 58 open-pollinated progenies. The experimental design followed a randomized block structure, with 10 replications, three plants per plot, and spacing of 3 m × 1.5 m. Data were collected at 18-month intervals from 2019 to 2023. In the individual deviance analyses, significant progeny effects were observed using the Likelihood Ratio Test at a 5% probability level. These individual analyses indicated satisfactory performance of the yerba mate progenies, and the selection of superior trees led to substantial gains for the breeding of the species. However, in the joint analysis across sites and harvests, none of the effects were statistically significant.