Cultivation Of Neglected Tropical Fruits With Promise The Pejibaye

The canistel, Pouteria campechiana (HBK) Baehni, and its close relatives, the lucmo, P. obovata HBK, and the abiu, P. caimito (Ruiz & Pav.) Radlk., are excellent fruits of the American Tropics which are not well distributed and are little known. All are about the size of an apple or an orange, and they are produced on attractive, chiefly evergreen trees. These species do well in areas with cool nights and have adapted somewhat to dry regions; the canistel seems to be the most adaptable. All can be propagated from seeds, but named varieties of lucmo are propagated by grafting. Cultural requirements are described based on the fragmentary information available. The canistel and the lucmo have a strong aroma and a mealy pulp, yellow or orange. Although the fruits are often eaten by hand, the pulp, either fresh or dry, can be used in the flavoring of drinks and desserts. The fruits are good sources of provitamin A. The fruit of the abiu is gelatinlike in consistency and must be eaten when fully ripe to avoid a sticky pulp. These three fruits merit attention and would probably be readily accepted by most people. Export markets also seem feasible.

Excerpt from Cultivation of Neglected Tropical Fruits With Promise, Vol. 8: The Pejibaye The foliage is composed of a crown of about 20 pinnate fronds. On the mature tree these reach a length of to 4 meters and a width of 30-50 centimeters. All parts of the frond are covered with spines shorter and softer than those on the trunk. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

The pejibaye, Bactris gasipaes H.B.K. is an important fruit common in some areas of the American Tropics and unknown in others. It is a palm native to South American forests, and was introduced to Central America in pre-Columbian times, but is still seldom found in the Caribbean and other tropical areas. The palm has several spiny trunks that each bear several multifruited panicles yearly. The fruits contain a single seed. The trees are usually propagated from seeds, but better techniques are needed to preserve selected trees as clones. The trees are adapted to a wide variety of tropical soils and climates, and so far, few important diseases have been found. When mature,the fruits are harvested by a variety of techniques, none of which is very satisfactory. Harvested fruit is easily damaged and damaged fruits rot rapidly. Mature fruits are boiled, and the pulp is eaten fresh, made into a meal, or macerated to make a drink. The seed is also edible. The palm cabbage is also harvested, usually from old trunks that are being removed anyway.