MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF A LOCAL SAMPLE OF Bixa orellana L., IN TABASCO, MÉXICO

Abstract

Different accessions of achiote (Bixa orellana L.) were characterized through 17 quantitative characters of the plant, leaf, flower and fruit, five qualitative ones of plant morphology, such as type of capsule, color of the leaf sheaf, type of leaves, flower color, type of fruit and seed color. The results showed 16 different accessions from the 40 evaluated. Fruits were found with heart, lancet and oblong shape, with and without trichomes, and green, red, brown and yellow colors. The variables that showed significant differences were capsule diameter, seed width, moist weight, and seed sack. The variables with
higher correlation were moist weight and dry weight of the seed. Two principal components explained 43.25 % of the total variability of the variables evaluated.