Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 20. 3
Contents
Foreword 5
Acknowledgements 6
1 Introduction 7
2 Taxonomy, nomenclature and geographical distribution 8
2.1 Taxonomy 8
2.2 Botanical and vernacular names 10
2.3 Geographical distribution 10
3 Description of the cultivated species 12
3.1 Morphological description 12
3.2 Ecology 14
3.3 Development of the stem and inflorescence 16
3.4 Reproductive biology 17
4 Uses and properties 20
4.1 Traditional food products 20
4.2 Current food products and their properties 20
4.3 Minor products 24
5 Origin and domestication 26
6 Genetic resources 28
6.1 Diversity among and within landraces 28
6.2 Existing germplasm banks 30
6.3 Useful and unusual phenotypes 32
6.4 Genetic erosion 33
6.5 Germplasm collecting and conservation 33
7 Genetic improvement strategies 36
8 Propagation 39
8.1 Pollen collecting, handling and controlled pollination 39
8.2 Seed 40
8.3 Asexual propagation 42
9 Agronomy of fruit and heart-of-palm production 44
9.1 Fruit: planting density and pruning 44
9.2 Fruit: mineral nutrition 44
9.3 Fruit: harvest and post-harvest handling 45
9.4 Heart-of-palm: planting density and pruning 46
9.5 Heart-of-palm: mineral nutrition 49
9.6 Heart-of-palm: harvest and post-harvest handling 52
9.7 Pests and pathogens 54
10 Production areas and commercial potential 58
10.1 Fruit 58
10.2 Heart-of-palm 59
11 Limitations and prospects of the crops 61
12 Future research needs 63