Lost Crops of the Incas Little-Known Plants of the Andes with Promise for Worldwide Cultivation (1989) / Chapter Skim
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Pacay- Ice-Cream Beans
Pacay- Ice-Cream Beans
Pages 276-285
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Al ~ Inga edulis
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The Incas had pacay pods carried to their mountain capital of Cuzco. Pedro Pizarro reports that the Inca emperor Atahualpa sent to Francisco Pizarro a basketful of guamas as a gift.
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Inga trees produce abundant root nodules, which fix nitrogen, and benefit the land by raising fertility levels. They can produce food without occupying the farmland used for food crops, because they can grow on sites neglected by agriculture.
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Inga has major potential for acid soils in the lowland humid tropics, especially in Southeast Asia and Africa. As a nitrogen-fixing, multipurpose tree that can be used to produce fruit, fuel, and green manure, it should find ready acceptance by farmers.
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The trees can be planted along urban streets and in home orchards. Inga trees are also frequently grown as single trees near homes.
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Ingas usually grow very quickly, with a trunk diameter sometimes increasing more than 2.5 cm a year. A seedling normally begins to provide sufficient canopy to cover plantation crops within three years.
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LIMITATIONS As noted, inga trees are restricted to tropical or subtropical climates. Tropical species produce pods nearly continuously, but in the subtropics fruit production is seasonal and heavy.
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SPECIES INFORMATION Botanical Name As noted, several species occur in the Andes. The main ones, however, are Inga feuillei de Candolle (used since preColumbian times)
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feuillei nodulate profusely even at pH 4.5 and are also heavily mycorrhizal (vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae)
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It is commonly used as a plantation shade tree throughout Central America, and its pods are widely eaten. Inga edicts As noted, research at Yurimaguas, Peru, indicates that this is a highly promising species for alley cropping on acid soils in the lowland humid tropics.
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