Date Palm

Authors: AL-KHAYRI, JAMEEL - King Faisal University; JAIN, S - University Of Helsinki; JOHNSON, DENNIS - Consultant; Krueger, Robert

Submitted to: Complete Book
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/15/2022
Publication Date: 6/14/2023
Citation: Al-Khayri, J.M., Jain, S.M., Johnson, D.V., Krueger, R. 2023. Date Palm. Oxfordshire, UK: CAB International. 648 p. https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800620209.0001.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1079/9781800620209.0000

Interpretive Summary: The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has been cultivated since ancient times in its center of origin in Western Asia and North Africa, and its cultivation has spread since then to many regions with appropriate climatic conditions. Although in some cases, the date palm is cultivated with simple or traditional methods, there have been technological advances in production methods. The most recent comprehensive treatments of date palm cultivation date from the 1970's or early 2000's. There have been many advances in cultivation technology since then. This book updates the information in those works with more recent advancements and additional information.

Technical Abstract: Over the past century, the date palm has become a major commercial fruit crop and a key component of agricultural production in the world’s subtropical arid and semiarid regions at elevations below about 1500 meters. A crop suited both to the low-input small farmer and the modern high-input commercial plantation, the date palm provides livelihood to millions of people living in marginal land areas where farming options are restricted. Accelerating scientific research into date palm improvement for fruit production in recent decades has broadened horizons for improved elite cultivars, stress and pathogen resistance enhanced postharvest technologies. These developments set the stage for a fresh set of recommendations to date palm producers with regard to the best practices they should follow to achieve optimal fruit production levels of high-quality fruit, as well as the opportunity to promote novel fruit products and uses and for a more complete utilization of the multitude of products the date palm can provide at both the subsistence and commercial level of production. Several recent books on date palm have addressed various aspects of this tree crop’s development but none represents a cultivation manual comparable to that published by FAO in 1999, Date Palm Cultivation. The proposed book is intended to deliver a new comprehensive standard reference work for date palm producers the world over. Chapters are directed towards formulating research results and providing applicable set of recommendations and technologies to guide date palm producers. Given the enormous changes that have taken place in date palm science over the past twenty years, the need exists to provide producers with a comprehensive single source of information on the proven modern practices that can carry this important crop forward to a higher level of productivity in the twenty-first century.