Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

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2 4 Peach palm. Bactris gasipaes Kunth extracting the oil, the remaining meal could be commercialized as an animal food supplement (Arkcoll and Aguiar 1984). The protein, oil and fibre contents of the seed are also appropriate for use as an animal food supplement (Zumbado and Murillo 1984). Like other palms, the seed is rich in saturated fatty acids, and could be used to manufacture cosmetics and soap. Heart-of-palm is developing into an important commercial crop, especially for the gourmet market (Villachica 1996). Fresh, dried and canned hearts-of-palm are being marketed for preparation of salads, soups, roasted chips and fillings. It is a good source of dietary fibre, and a moderate source of magnesium and iron (Table 5). Table 5.Chemical composition and mineral content of heart-of-palm reported from different sources 5a. Chemical composition (% of fresh weight) Source Moisture Protein Oil Carbohydrate Fibre Ash Brazil Ferreira and Pashoalino 1988 88.4 2.3 2.2 4.0 1.1 1.2 Peru D’Arrigo 1993 91.4 2.9 0.6 3.0 1.0 0.9 Costa Rica Asunción 1991 90.5 2.3 0.1 2.7 0.9 0.9 Average 90.1 2.5 1.0 3.2 1.0 1.0 5b. Mineral content (mg/100 g dry weight) Source Ca Fe Mg P K Na Zn Brazil Ferreira and Pashoalino 1988 114.0 4.3 80.0 94.0 337.6 1.3 0.8 4.3 Minor products Native Amerindians used several other parts of peach palm (Patiño 1958; Clement 1988). The stem provided durable material for bows, arrows, fishing poles, harpoons, carvings, and flooring and paneling in their houses. The Ticuna people of the upper Solimões River in Brazil also extract a green dye from the leaves for colouring other fibres (C.R. Clement, 1996, pers. observ.). The long spines were
Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 20. 25 fashioned into sewing needles. The cooked male flowers served as a condiment (Aguiar and Clement 1984), and the roots provided a vermicide (Patiño 1958). The durable stem is still valued for parquet, furniture and carvings. Stems could be a valuable by-product from fruit plantations: they could be cut when the tree is too tall to effectively harvest or when declining fruit production no longer warrants a harvest. There is considerable variation among trees in stem characteristics related to wood-product quality: height and diameter of the stem and thickness of the central cylinder and cortex. In heart-of-palm plantations, unused leaf and stem parts could be used to manufacture paper, organic fertilizer and animal food supplement, although continued harvesting of these by-products could reduce the long-term sustainability of low-input plantation systems (see Section 9.5). Some peach palm phenotypes also have commercial value as ornamentals, for example a spineless stem with pendant or erect leaflets.
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Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

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