Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

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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.
Promoting the conservation and use of underutilized and neglected crops. 20. 57 The foliage mite (Retracus johnstoni) is an economically important pest of adult peach palm, but has not yet become a pest in heart-of-palm plantations. Some peach palm landraces (e.g. Putumayo) seem to be more susceptible than others to the foliage mite (J. Mora-Urpí, pers. observ.). The mite causes yellow patches on leaflets, extending sometimes over the entire leaflet surface. They attack young leaves but the symptoms only become apparent in older leaves. Chemical control would be expensive and has not been tried, but good nutrition seems to reduce its attack.
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Peach palm - World Agroforestry Centre

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