Progeny selections of coffee cultivar 'Mundo Novo' with potential for the specialty coffee market

Abstract

Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world with a global market worth over 100 billion. In Brazil, the Arabica coffee (Coffea arabica) cultivar 'Mundo Novo' is one of the most planted cultivars due to its high yield, growth vigor and stability. However, this traditional cultivar is generally not considered a good production source for specialty coffee. Exploring intra-cultivar variation and selecting 'Mundo Novo' progenies with superior sensory quality may provide a viable option for coffee producers targeting the rapidly expanding specialty coffee market. The present study analyzed cup quality attributes, agronomic characteristics and genetic identities of 14 genotypes selected from the putative progenies of 'Mundo Novo' and assessed their potential as specialty coffee in Brazil. Beverage quality was assessed using chemical and sensory analysis according to the methodology proposed by the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA) in six selected genotypes. High sensory quality, with sensory scores above 80 points was observed which qualified them in the very good and excellent quality categories. Genetic identities of the 14 selections were verified using 96 SNP markers, based on 57 reference cultivars from the coffee collection of EPAMIG (Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecuária de Minas Gerais), Brazil. Multivariant and Bayesian clustering analysis generated consistent results and confirmed that all the 14 selections were progenies of 'Mundo Novo'. Among them, the top three genotypes (SGAB 1, SGAB 7 and SGAB 8) were selected as promising genotypes, either for future genetic improvement or for direct use in the production of specialty coffee.