Cloning of elite, multipurpose trees of the Prosopis juliflora/pallida complex in Piura, Peru

The nitrogen fixing trees of the Prosopis juliflora/P. pallida complex are among the most adaptable and fastest growing trees in the truly tropical arid regions and have become naturalized in semi-arid tropics in Latin America, the Caribbean, Hawaii, Sahelian Africa, the Indian subcontinent and northern Australia. The trees have been regarded both as a serious weed and as a valuable resource for firewood and dune stabilization. Unfortunately the introductions into Sahelian Africa and the Indian subcontinent were from trees that had non-palatable pods. Despite their widespread occurrence, seed from a genetic improvement program is not available. Peruvian Prosopis has rapid growth, erect form and high survival of in Haiti, Cape Verde and India. An evaluation of form, diameter at breast height, pod production and pod palatability was conducted in a 10 year old plantation of 1,800 trees in Piura, Peru and seven were selected that had: more than 20 cm DBH; an erect form; 100% of branches with pods; and pods with a very sweet flavor. Scions and budwood were taken from these trees and successively grafted onto greenhouse grown stock plants to be used for clonal multiplication. For the first time we report successful chip budding grafting of Prosopis. This is the first report of Peruvian clones that have been selected for high production of highly palatable sweet pods.