Monilinia and Ceratocystis. Other pests include mites and insects (Metamasius hemipterus). Culinary uses Bactris gasipaes has been used for food for centuries. Spanish explorers found a pejibaye plantation of 30,000 trees on the Atlantic coast of Costa Rica, providing fruit that replaced corn in the indigenous diet. The fruit is stewed in salted water and peeled, the seed is removed, and it may be flavored with salt or honey. The texture both raw and cooked has been compared to a firm sweet potato, and the flavor to hominy, dry squash or roasted chestnut. In some regions, the fruit halves are filled with mayonnaise or sour cream. Raw peach palm contains irritating calcium oxalate crystals that disappear under intense heat. Sellers of the fruit (often, street vendors) cook the fruit for 5 hours the night previous to the sale; however, recent studies have revealed that the same effect can be achieved in 30 minutes inside a pressure cooker, or even less in dry ovens or microwaves, without significantly altering the flavour of the final product. The raw fruit spoils quickly but it can be stored as a dry meal or preserves. It can yield flour and edible oil. Further, peach palm chips, currently produced in southern Colombia, are believed to have a large potential to enter mainstream markets. This plant may also be harvested for heart of palm, and has commercial advantages in being fast growing; the first harvest can be from 18 to 24 months after planting. Brazil has a large domestic market for heart of palm and international demand is growing. It is also an economically important crop in Costa Rica. It is a viable substitute for other sources of heart of palm, such as overexploited native species of Euterpe, including Euterpe oleracea (açaí) and Euterpe edulis (juçara). It could also become a replacement crop for the threatened Fiji sago palm (Metroxylon vitiense). History During the colonization of the Americas, the Spanish cut down 20,000 peach palms in Costa Rica in order to deprive and subjugate the indigenous population. The palm was a staple in pre-Columbian times, and it became a neglected crop after the Spanish conquest. Even so, it has provided food safety when needed. Vernacular names awara (Guyana) chonta or chontaduro (Ecuador) chontaduro (Colombia) cor wary, supa (San Andrés archipelago) manaco (Guatemala) pejibaye (Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic) peewah (Trinidad and Tobago) pijibay, supa (Nicaragua and