Contribution of breeding to agriculture in the Brazilian Amazon. I. Açaí palm and oil palm

Abstract

Sustainable development in the Amazon involves moderate actions that combine technology-based agriculture with forest conservation. One of these actions is the genetic breeding of native species, which promotes cultural appreciation of the local society, and enables the opening of new markets. As an example, two breeding programs with solid results will be mentioned in this review: açaí palm (Euterpe oleracea Mart.) and oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq. and E. oleifera (Kunth.) Cortés). Despite its importance, the prospects for breeding programs on Amazon are not optimistic. Factors intrinsic to plants, such as their incipient domestication, as well as their perennial nature and the difficulty linked to the improvement of plants in this category; and extrinsic factors, such as the lack of resources and specialized labour, in addition to the deficiency in logistics, are growing challenges that make it difficult to implementation of new programs and expansion of existing ones.

How to write and publish articles in plant breeding: What do we need to know?

“…However, these same authors also describe the pipeline of a predictive soybean breeding program (using molecular markers for early selection, predictive genomic methods, three generations per year, and trials in up to 16 sites) in which it is possible to release cultivars already in the fourth year. This synthesis of breeding programs shows that the time required for releasing cultivars is relatively long, from 6 to 10 years for annual crops and from 15 to 20 years for perennial crops (Chaves et al 2021). This reality runs up against the need for the researcher to publish articles each year.…”

The Microbial Community Structure in the Rhizosphere of Theobroma cacao L. and Euterpe oleracea Mart. Is Influenced by Agriculture System in the Brazilian Amazon

“…Among this great biological diversity, plants such as cocoa ( Theobroma cacao L.) and açai ( Euterpe oleracea Mart.) are in the spotlight due to their economic potential [ 1 , 2 ]. Nowadays, Brazil is the main producer of açai and the seventh largest producer of cocoa in the world.…”

Morfologia de acessos de açaizeiro (Euterpe spp) híbridos interespecíficos do Banco Ativo de Germoplasma da Embrapa Amazônia Oriental

“…A Embrapa Amazônia Oriental desempenha um papel importante como precursora no melhoramento genético do Research, Society andDevelopment, v. 13, n. 3, e14113345214, 2024 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v13i3.45214 açaizeiro, contribuindo significativamente para o avanço nessa área, ao disponibilizar duas cultivares de E. oleracea: BRS Pará, em 2004 (Oliveira & Farias Neto, 2004) e BRS Pai d'Égua, em 2019(Farias Neto, 2019, ambas registradas no Registro Nacional de Cultivares (RNC), sob os números 11300 e 39588 respectivamente. No programa de melhoramento dessa instituição, tem-se várias estratégias, dentre elas a hibridação, somador importante para explorar o potencial genético dessas espécies, buscando combinar características desejadas (Lima & Oliveira, 2023), de interesse para agroindústria como: frutos pequenos, alto rendimento de polpa por fruto e de frutos por cacho, precocidade em produção, cachos pesados, presença de perfilhamento, teor de antocianina e produção na entressafra (Menezes & Oliveira, 2009;Chaves et al, 2021).…”