Fruit Mass of <i>Carica papaya</i> L. from Cultivars Aliança and THB from the Width and Length of the Fruit

Abstract

Papaya ( Carica papaya L.) is a typical plant with a tropical climate, but also grown in subtropical regions. Using mathematical models well-adjusted allows with good precision to estimate characteristics of interest. The objective was to adjust an equation tha t estimates the fruit mass for each cultivar of papaya, Alian &#231; a and THB, using only one measure, length or width. The experiment was conducted in the municipality of Linhares in the state of Espírito Santo, Brazil. Seedlings were planted on the same day, spaced 3.6 × 1.5 m and in rows side by side. Initially, the equations were modeled, they were linearized and then the covariance analysis was performed in order to verify the possibility of an equation that would serve both cultivars. As the covariance was significant, it was necessary to develop equations for each cultivar. To obtain the growth equations, 350 fruits of cultivar Alian &#231; a and 550 of THB were used. The validation was performed with 50 fruits of each. The characteristics evaluated were the largest width (W in mm), the longest fruit length (L, in mm) and the observed mass (OM in g). The equations that best fit were those of the power model that use width (W) as an independent variable.