Abstract
Although originally domesticated for its fruit, exploitation of the peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth) in the production of gourmet heart-of-palm has also become an important activity, hence the need for improved material for large-scale production, on employing the Pampa Hermosa landrace as the seed source. In this study 11 microsatellite markers were used to evaluate genetic divergence among 96 elite plants representing four populations of spineless peach palm from the above cited source. Genetic variability was high (HT = 0.82). The low levels of divergence [FST (0.023), GST’ (0.005)] and the high number of migrants (Nm - 3.8 to 52.2) indicated significant interpopulation gene flow. Some of the plants presented high levels of genetic divergence, but the plants were grouped independently of their geographic origins. When combined with morpho-agronomic evaluation, the results found could substantially contribute towards mounting an efficient tool for obtaining superior genotypes with wide genetic variability for improvement programs.
Highlights
The cultivated peach palm (Bactris gasipaes Kunth var. gasipaes) is the only domesticated palm in the Neotropics (Clement, 1988; Mora Urpí et al, 1997)
The peach palm has advantages when compared to other sources of heartof-palm, such as açaí (Euterpe oleracea) and juçara (Euterpe edulis), notably faster growth and higher yields per hectare (Bovi, 1997), as well as better adaptability to modern agricultural systems (Mora Urpí et al, 1997)
Most of the seeds used in the expansion of the Brazilian agribusiness and improvement programs are from the Pampa Hermosa landrace, which occurs in the outskirts of the town of Yurimáguas, Loreto, Peru
Summary
Doriane Picanço-Rodrigues2 1Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia, Manaus, AM, Brazil. 2Laboratório de Evolução Aplicada, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Manaus, AM, Brazil
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