2004; Couvreur et al. 2006; Hernández-Ugalde et al. 2008, 2010; Araújo et al. 2010). At the same time low genetic differentiation and the exchange of seed material over extensive areas have been observed, at least in the Peruvian Amazon (Adin et al. 2004; Cole et al. 2007). Since peach palm, as a perennial, has a lengthy generation period, the risk of genetic erosion in cultivated populations is low, so on-farm conservation might be a good alternative for large germplasm collections (Van Leeuwen et al. 2005). This requires proper management of the genetic resources to keep the

risk of genetic erosion low (Cornelius selleck et al. 2006). These same authors compared the effects of different genetic improvement strategies on the trade-offs between genetic gain in cultivated peach palm populations and conservation of genetic resources in the Peruvian Amazon. Clonal seed orchards with associated progeny trials based initially on 450 or more trees could be effective for achieving genetic gain while minimizing genetic erosion. However,

this strategy requires vegetative propagation for multiplication (Mora-Urpí et al. 1997; Cornelius et al. 2006). Botero Botero and Atehortua (1999) reported on somatic embryogenesis in peach palm, but this technology is apparently not used to multiply selected accessions. Only in one collection have clones been selected for propagation (Table 2). Nevertheless, research is underway to further improve techniques, such as somatic embryogenesis,

for clonal propagation L-gulonolactone oxidase (Steinmacher Doxorubicin mw et al. 2007, 2011). In contrast to cultivated peach palm, wild populations (being important resources for genetic improvement) are threatened by deforestation, driven mainly by agricultural expansion and the transition of forest to savannah (Clement et al. 2009). How this threat affects the three taxonomically different wild types (see Henderson 2000) is not clear, because their distribution is not yet well defined (Clement et al. 2009). Wild peach palm trees are found in disturbed ecosystems, on river banks and in primary forest gaps (Mora-Urpí et al. 1997). They often occur in isolation or at low densities (Mora-Urpí et al. 1997; Da Silva and Clement 2005). Though no definitive studies have been conducted on seed dispersal of peach palm, it is probably restricted locally to dispersal by birds and seed-gathering mammals, though seed may occasionally be dispersed by water, potentially over greater distances (Mora-Urpí et al. 1997; Clement et al. 2009). Gene flow of outcrossing tree species with this type of scattered distribution may be restricted and could result in genetically distinct isolated subpopulations with small effective population sizes (Mora-Urpí et al. 1997). This has implications for conservation strategies, which require further research. It is probably too expensive to conserve ex situ a significant number of wild palm accessions; strategies that maximize in situ conservation of wild populations seem more feasible.