Cultivo de plantas alimentícias não convencionais (PANCs) pelos horticultores em Teresina, Piauí

Abstract

Wild plants known as “bushes” are names like Non-Conventional Food Plants (PANCs), a term proposed by the biologist Valdely Ferreira Kinnupp. The consumption and production of these species are one of the solutions to the problem of hunger, as well as the preservation and conservation of species that are linked to traditional knowledge and the history of Brazil. Based on this question, the study raised whether horticulturists know the importance and potential of these plants and how they are used, besides identifying how PANCs have been planted. Therefore, this work aimed to record the ethnobotanical knowledge of horticulturists about PANCs and promote the dissemination of these plants in Teresina, Piauí. Therefore, the specific objectives were: to carry out a survey of the species cultivated by horticulturists in the Renascença II neighborhood; characterize the mode of cultivation; recording the knowledge of horticulturists in relation to these plants; propose the cultivation of PANCs, aiming to increase the variability of plants in the community gardens; verify a possible relationship between age and the species mentioned by the interviewees. Finally, it was produced a PANCs guide, with a view to the dissemination of these species in Teresina, which, in addition to representing a return for the study community, is a didactic resource to be used in basic education. A total of 19 horticulturists were interviewed, of which 15 (79%) were women and four (21%) were men. As for the sale and consumption of PANCs, seven (36.8%) respondents only sell, while four (21%) only consume, and five (26.3%) sell and consume, finally, three (15.9 %) neither sells nor consumes. Eighteen species of PANCs were identified, most of which are exotic species (72.2%) and herbaceous (83.3%) presented spontaneous cultivation as a way of cultivation (52.7%). Although they do not know the term PANC, the horticulturists of the Renascença II neighborhood know the importance of these species for the preservation, conservation, and use of all available resources.