Euterpe edulis & Acai Farms

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

This may be the wrong forum for this question so please feel free to move it Dean. Today, in my work role, someone from Canada contacted my company looking for a fertilizer to use to grow "Acai palms" in Toronto as a fruiting crop (to collect the berries!) in containers in a greenhouse. This seems like a scam to me as the company is selling 3 little seedlings (2-3 leaves) for $39. I'm thinking these particular Canadian customers have been snookered. Anyone here know who Acai farms?

[Keith N Tampa (ex SoJax)]

Oops! Acai palm is E. oleracea not edulis. I always get that mixed up! Maybe I'll remember now.

[amazondk]

Keith,

That sounds pretty scammy to me. I have posted quite a bit of information about growing açai in the past. As well as how to make the local drink from the berries. The açai here is either collected from wild trees, mostly Euterpe precatoria, or from plantation trees Euterpe olearcea. And, also from wild E. olearcea in their habit over in eastern Amazonia around the delta area of the Amazon River. I actually would like to make a plantation on some land my wife´s family has up the Negro River. I would like to put in about 10 hectares of E. olearcea BRS Pará. They start to produce in the 3rd year of cultivation in the ground. And, at maturity you get about 12 tons per hectare of berries per year. So, that would be in 10 hectares about 120 tons of berries a year. The best way is to also mix in other food crops like passion fruit, cassava, bananas in the plantation to raise the revenue yield on the land. You do need some irrigation even in our climate to get best results though. Here in Manaus the berries used for making the drink are sold for around 5 USD per kilo I believe. So, that would be about 500 USD per metric ton. That would give you a revenue of about 60,000 USD per year on 10 hectares of plantation. Even if it were half it is not a bad deal. There is a big market for the pulp. The normal planting is each clump 5 meters from the next one. That gives you 400 clumps per hectare. Or in 10 hectares that would be 4,000 clumps. The clumps need should be limited to 4 stems to increase fruit production. Then you also get the palm hearts from the extra stems or the old ones that get too high for easy harvest. All in all it is not a bad deal. That is if you live in an equatorial humid lowland climate llike I do. I do not think a greenhouse in Canada would be to viabale.

dk

[amazondk]

Here are some old pictures I posted of an Açai plantation down in the southern part of Amazonas state near the city of Humaita. I figured you might like to see them. It sure is not Canada though.

[amazondk]

And, here is the way I buy açai drink. It is fresh squeezed by the neighborhood açai guy.

[Zeeth]

Very cool info Don! You say Euterpe precatoria is also used to make açai, is that any hardier to cold? I know that E. oleracea is a cold weather wimp, but it might be interesting to try Euterpe precatoria for berries for home use if it's any hardier...

[PalmatierMeg]

Zeeth, my experience last winter is that E. precatoria is every bit as wimpy as E. oleracea. All my E.o. in the ground croaked, as well as my larger E.p. I gave up on all of them.

Acai farming in Canada? Just screams S-C-A-M. Why would anyone grow such a tropical palm for its "berries" when you can find juice in the grocery store and concentrated acai capsules in the drug store? Please. I tried that 19-juice concoction sold in champagne bottles a couple years ago and had an allergic reaction to it. It's bad news for me.

[Jim in Los Altos]

Anyone know if berries from Euterpe edulis have similar health properties to E. oleracea? If so, it's the one to grow where some cold hardiness is needed.

[garrin]

I hear about the pulp of the E. oleracea fruit being used, but I have both E. oleracea and E. precatoria fruiting well on my property, and all I get from the fruit is a healty seed surrounded by a very thin dry skin. I have them in both very wet and less wet conditions. And all of them give 'dry' fruit. Any ideas why?

[MattyB]

Oh Don, those pics made my day, thanks!

[ariscott]

I have to plant all my E. precatoria together now.... Those photos have inspired me :).

Regards, Ari

[amazondk]

Let me see if I can remember all the questions.

1. E. precatoria is ever bit as cold intolerant as E. olearcea.

2. The way you prepare the drink is to fist soak the berries in warm water. This loosens the plup up. They do not have a lot of flesh around the seed. The machine commonly used to extract the pulp is like a juicer grinder. Try soaking the berries for an hour or so in warm, not hot water.

3. Matt, I am glad you enjoyed the pictures.

4. Ari, they look great in groups. I have a nice one developing of E. precatorias.

dk

[amazondk]

I have posted these pictures a long time ago. So, they are relevant now.

Soaking açai berries in warm water.

Beating the seeds.

Fresh açai coming out of the fruit beater.