Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

5 6 Peach palm. Bactris gasipaes Kunth
them prior to sowing. Parrots consume immature fruits, but not mature fruits.
Large flocks may arrive close to harvest time and damage much of the fruit crop.
It is very difficult to keep them out of the fruit plantation (using guardians with
weapons, and programmed noisemakers), and poisoned bait is prohibited in some
producing countries.
Several insect species may directly or indirectly lead to the early abscission of
fruits. Two small curculionid beetle species are associated with serious early fruit
abscission along the Pacific coasts of northern Ecuador and Colombia (Lehmann
1993). Females of both species oviposit in fruits of any age, the larvae feed on the
fruit tissue, and fruits fall before normal harvest time. The most important of these
two has not been identified (known only as the ‘small black curculionid’), and the
other is Parisoschoenus spp. Covering the racemes with plastic bags or applying
insecticides will control these insects, but these are difficult and expensive
operations (especially in tall palms). Leptoglossus lonchoides (Heteroptera) is
associated with serious early fruit abscission in Brazil, but the insect is thought to
be a catalyst rather than a cause of the problem (Couturier et al. 1991). The cause
is still unknown but micronutrient deficiencies, nutrient imbalances and drought
stress are possible factors being investigated.
The coconut beetle (Rhynchophorus palmarum) attacks coconut and African oil
palm, transmiting the ‘red ring’ disease (Rhadinaphelenchus cocophilus) to these
palms. It is a large, black curculionid (2-5 cm long), whose larvae feed on the apical
meristem of these palms. Peach palm was infected with the ‘red ring’ disease after
artificial inoculation (Victoria 1979), but the disease has not been reported on peach
palm under normal conditions. The coconut beetles may shift from their primary
hosts to peach palm if the fruit and heart-of-palm plantations are under stress (e.g.
during a long dry season). This should be carefully monitored, especially in areas
with a defined dry season.
Strategeus aloeus, a large scarab beetle, is also a common pest in coconut
plantations and may develop as a pest on peach palm. Females oviposit in the
belowground clustering body, which the larvae consume. Normally they do not kill
peach palm (unlike coconut), and can be controlled with insecticides or commercial
pheromone traps. This beetle is not yet an economically important pest on peach
palm.
Another curculionid, the sugar cane beetle (Metamasius hemipterus), mainly
attacks sugar cane, but is also found in banana and pineapple plantations and
sometimes affects peach palm. On peach palm, the larvae feed around the tissue
where the fruit bunch attaches to the stem, causing the bunch to fall (Mexzon 1997).
They can be controlled with commercial pheromone traps.
Two other beetles, Calyptocephala marginipennis and Demotispa pallida, may be
seasonal pests on peach palm in Costa Rica (Mexzon 1997). Both are leaf scrapers,
whose populations may grow large enough to become economically important.