Caracterização morfológica da mafurreira em Chidenguele e na Cidade de Maputo

Abstract

The mafureira - Trichilia emetica Vahl - is a tree whose main interest lies in its seeds, which are used to extract oil. Despite its relative economic importance, it is an oilseed that has been little studied from an agronomic point of view. Thus, this work aims to know the morphological characteristics of sweet and bitter mafureiras through the study of diverse material, collected in the administrative post of Chidenguele and in Maputo City, and, based on these characteristics, it is intended to differentiate the two types of mafurreiras and establish a relationship between the characteristics studied and the amount of oil contained in their seeds with a view to recommending the best type in terms of oil content. The results of the study show that sweet aryl mafureiras may have white, orange or red seeds while bitter aryl ones always have red arils. Sweet mafureiras have a high oil content when compared to bitter ones. Regarding the two study sites, significant differences were observed between canopy diameters, fillet lengths and between stylet lengths. Qualitatively, it was observed that most Chidenguele trees are of the sweet type.