Understanding the Technical-Scientific Gaps of Underutilized Tropical Species: The Case of Bactris gasipaes Kunth

Abstract

The extraction and commercialization of palm hearts is the most profitable activity involving the peach palm (Bactris gasipaes), while consumption of its fruits is limited to Amazonian communities. The excessive attention paid to the implementation of germplasm banks contributed to the lack of development of high-performance varieties, limiting the production and consumption of peach palm fruits and by-products. In addition, with the fragmentation of the Amazonian rainforest, wild populations are in danger of extinction. The species domestication, initiated by Native Amazonians, generated a large variety of peach palm populations, as evidenced by the diversity in fruit sizes and quality. Some advances in agronomic traits also took place. However, more research needs to be conducted to understand the implications of climatic changes on plant physiological performance. Indeed, the key point is that the exploitation of the full potential of B. gasipaes has not been completely exploited. Therefore, understanding the state-of-the-art research on the peach palm with a focus on its underutilized resources is essential for expanding plantations and, consequently, promoting the market expansion of the peach palm as a fruit crop.

Keywords: agronomic traits; biotechnological applications; chemical composition; crop fruit; genetic resources; germplasm banks; peach palm plantation.

Figure 1

Distribution of B. gasipaes through Central and South America (adapted from Clement et al. [18] and Hernández-Ugalde et al. [20]). The dashed lines comprehend the four main complexes: I. Occidental group: composed of representants of var. chichagui (Upala, Azuero, Daríen, Chontila, and Chinamato) and var. gasipaes (Utilis landrace); II. Maracaibo group: comprehending B. caribaea and B. macana (outgroups); III. Upper Amazonia: composed of Caquetá, Putumayo (Yurimaguas population), Vaupés, Inirida, Ayacucho, Pastaza, Tigre, and Juruá landraces; IV. Eastern Amazonia: Pará and Tembé landraces, and var. chichagui Acre and Xingú.

Figure 2

General morphology of B. gasipaes and germination. On the right, a Peach palm near to an ombrophilous dense forest in Altamira, Para, Brazil, followed by a representation of an adult individual and different fruits sizes. The arrow indicates different seed sizes and the germination morphology, adapted from Silva et al. [24]. Legends: (a) apical gem; (b) pinnate leaves; (c) palm heart; (d) inflorescences; (e) internode with spines; (f) shoots; (g) roots; (h–j) different sizes of fruits; (k) seeds; (l) non-differentiated cell mass; (m) radicular and caulinar primordium; (n) eophyll elongation; (o) bifid primary leaf.

Figure 3

Chemical structures of the major metabolites described for the peach palm.