Peach palm, Bactris gasipaes Kunth

Yielding fruits and palm hearts, peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) was a staple food crop for many pre-Columbian Amerindian communities in the lowland humid neotropics. The gene pool of cultivated peach palm and its wild relatives is rich in diversity but is subject to genetic erosion creating an urgent need to sample and conserve germplasm. This booklet provides an overview of existing knowledge of the genus with emphasis on genetic resources. Chapters cover the following topics: taxonomy and distribution, botanical description, uses and properties, origin and domestication, genetic diversity, collecting and evaluation, breeding, propagation, agronomy, production areas, commercial potential, limitations and future prospects. An appendix presents details of institutions and scientists managing gene banks and conduction research on peach palm. (Abstract © CAB ABSTRACTS, CAB International

Conservation implications of the mating system of the Pampa Hermosa landrace of peach palm analyzed with microsatellite markers

Peach palm (Bactris gasipaes) is cultivated by many indigenous and traditional communities from Amazonia to Central America for its edible fruits, and is currently important for its heart-of-palm. The objective of this study was to investigate the mating system of peach palm, as this is important for conservation and breeding. Eight microsatellite loci were used to genotype 24 open-pollinated progenies from three populations of the Pampa Hermosa landrace maintained in a progeny trial for genetic improvement. Both the multi-locus outcrossing rates (0.95 to 0.99) and the progeny level multi-locus outcrossing rates (0.9 to 1.0) were high, indicating that peach palm is predominantly allogamous. The outcrossing rates among relatives were significantly different from zero (0.101 to 0.202), providing evidence for considerable biparental inbreeding within populations, probably due to farmers planting seeds of a small number of open-pollinated progenies in the same plot. The correlations of paternity estimates were low (0.051 to 0.112), suggesting a large number of pollen sources (9 to 20) participating in pollination of individual fruit bunches. Effective population size estimates suggest that current germplasm collections are insufficient for long-term ex situ conservation. As with most underutilized crops, on farm conservation is the most important component of an integrated conservation strategy

Embryonic dormancy in seeds of Bactris gasipaes Kunth (peach-palm)

Bactris gasipaes is a domesticated palm whose fruits are of great importance for the Amazonian people and whose heart of palm is also receiving economic interest in other brazilian and Latin America regions. The aim of this study was verify embryonic dormancy and its correlation with first cataphyll emergence in B. gasipaes seeds collected from four plants at Manaus city and four others at Coari city, both in the Amazonas state, Brazil. After extraction and cleaning, some of the seeds (4 replications of 25 per plant) were sown in a seedbed with a sawdust and sand mixture as substrate, and embryos (4 replications of 10 per plant), after extraction, were inoculated into half strength Murashige and Skoog cultures. Were used 100 seeds and 40 embryo per treatment. Whole seed and embryo germination varied between the different source plants and locations, with the greatest difference observed for the emergence of first cataphyll from seeds in the seedbed. For the most part of variables, results of seed and embryo were positively associated, namely, as one went up the other also, and vice versa. These results suggesting that, at least in part, seed dormancy in Bactris gasipaes is associated with embryonic dormancy. © 2017, Associacao Brasileira de Tecnologia de Sementes. All rights reserved

Variabilidade genética e fluxo gênico em populações híbridas e silvestres de pupunha acessada com marcadores RAPD

As populações híbridas de pupunha (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) acumularam variabilidade genética provenientes de raças primitivas ao seu redor, o que deveria aumentar sua variabilidade. Para testar esta hipótese, avaliou-se a variabilidade genética de populações híbridas por meio de marcadores RAPD utilizando 176 plantas mantidas no Banco Ativo de Germoplasma do INPA, Manaus-AM, sendo quatro populações híbridas [Belém (n=26); Manaus (n=38); Iquitos, Peru (n=41); Yurimáguas, Peru (n=41)], duas populações silvestres (B. gasipaes variedade chichagui) tipos 1 (n=21) e 3 (n=7), e duas amostras de espécie afim, B. riparia, e compararam-se os parâmetros genéticos com estudos das raças primitivas. Oito iniciadores RAPD geraram 88 marcadores polimórficos e 11 monomórficos. O teste de replicabilidade apresentou uma similaridade de Dice 0,67, considerado aceitável. A heterozigosidade média das populações híbridas foi 0,34 e o polimorfismo foi 87,9%, maiores que nas silvestres (0,31; 74,7%). O dendrograma das similaridades de Dice não apresentou grupos que representassem claramente as populações híbridas. O fluxo gênico entre Iquitos e Yurimáguas (Nm=12,75) e entre Iquitos e Manaus (Nm=9,47) foi alto, enquanto o fluxo entre Belém e Manaus (Nm=7,72) foi menor que o esperado, possivelmente devido à influência da raça Solimões. O alto valor de heterozigosidade em Manaus (0,31) parece ser resultado da união de duas dispersões após a domesticação: a do oeste amazônico, com Iquitos e Yurimáguas, e a do leste amazônico, com Belém, que se juntam em Manaus. No entanto, essas populações não apresentaram acúmulo de variabilidade genética tão expressiva para diferenciá-las das raças primitivas

Respostas de crescimento da pupunheira à adubação NPK Peach palm growth responses to NPK fertilization

As palmeiras apresentam grande demanda por nutrientes. Por este motivo, o efeito da adubação NPK no crescimento de pupunheiras (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) foi estudado durante 30 meses (11/90 a 04/93) em experimento conduzido a campo em solo Aluvial álico (corrigido por meio de calagem) em Ubatuba, SP (clima "Cfa"). Utilizou-se o delineamento de blocos ao acaso, com uma repetição, em esquema fatorial fracionado (½ de 4³), com tratamentos dispostos em dois blocos, parcelas úteis de 24 plantas e bordaduras duplas ao redor. Foram testadas quatro doses de nitrogênio (0, 100, 200 e 400 kg ha-1 ano-1 de N), fósforo (0, 50, 100 e 200 kg ha-1 ano-1 de P2O5) e potássio (0, 50, 100 e 200 kg ha-1 ano-1 de K2O), aplicadas em faixa e divididas em cinco aplicações anuais, utilizando como fontes nitrocálcio, superfosfato triplo e cloreto de potássio. As plantas foram cultivadas no espaçamento de 2 × 1 m, e avaliadas periodicamente quanto ao diâmetro da haste principal, número de perfilhos e porcentagem de plantas perfilhadas. Em solo arenoso e de baixa fertilidade, a pupunheira apresenta resposta linear, positiva e significativa de crescimento às adubações com nitrogênio (N) e potássio (K) e ausência de resposta ao fósforo (P). As primeiras respostas significativas ocorreram três meses depois de iniciadas as adubações diferenciadas. Não houve interações significativas entre N, P e K. O crescimento máximo foi obtido com doses anuais de 400 kg de N, 0 kg de P2O5 e 200 kg de K2O por hectare.<br>Palms have high nutrient demand. For this reason, the effects of NPK fertilization on the initial growth of peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) were studied in a field experiment, from November 1990 to April 1993. The trial was set up on an allic, previously limed soil, in Ubatuba, SP, Brazil (23º27'S, 45º04'W, 6 m asl; "Cfa" climate). A fractional factorial experimental design (½ of 4³) was utilized, with two blocks, one replication, 24 inner plants per plot and double border rows. Treatments were composed of four rates of nitrogen (0 to 400 kg N ha-1 year-1), phosphorus (0 to 200 kg P2O5 ha-1 year-1) and potassium (0 to 200 kg K2O ha-1 year-1), applied in stripes and divided in five annual applications. The fertilizers used were: calcium nitrate, triple super phosphate and potassium chloride. Plants were cultivated in a 2 × 1 m array, and periodically evaluated in relation to diameter of main stem, number of offshoots and percentage of plants with offshoots. In this sandy and low fertility soil, peach palm growth responses in relation to N and K amendments were linear and positive. Initial responses were observed three months after fertilizer application. No isolated effects of P fertilization, nor significant interactions among fertilizers were observed. Maximum growth responses were reached with 400 kg N ha-1 year-1, 0 kg P2O5 ha-1 year-1 and 200 kg K2O ha-1 year-1