Date Palm Cultivation

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DATE PALM
CULTIVATION

FAO
PLANT
PRODUCTION
AND PROTECTION
PAPER

156
Rev. 1
Table of Contents
Edited and compiled by
Abdelouahhab Zaid
Chief Technical Adviser/Director
UNOPS - Date Palm Research & Development Programme
United Arab Emirates
Coordinated by
E.J. Arias-Jimnez
Agricultural Officer
Horticultural Crops Group
Crop and Grassland Service
FAO Plant Production and Protection Division
Produced within the framework of the Date Production
Support Programme in Namibia FAO-UTF/NAM/004/NAM
FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2002
The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the
expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning
the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.
ISSN 0259-2517
ISBN 92-5-104863-0
All rights reserved. Reproduction and dissemination of material in this information product for educational or
other non-commercial purposes are authorized without any prior written permission from the copyright holders
provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of material in this information product for resale or
other commercial purposes is prohibited without written permission of the copyright holders. Applications for
such permission should be addressed to the Chief, Publishing Management Service, Information Division,

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Date Palm Cultivation

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http://www.fao.org/docrep/006/y4360e/y4360e00.htm#Contents

FAO, Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy or by e-mail to copyright@fao.org
FAO 2002

Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
Presentation
List of common abbreviations and signs
Chapter I: BOTANICAL AND SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION OF THE DATE PALM
1. Introduction
2. Systematic distribution
3. Botanical description
Chapter II: ORIGIN, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION AND NUTRITIONAL VALUES OF DATE
PALM
1. Origin of date palm
2. Geographical distribution of date palm
3. Date nutritional value
4. Date products
Chapter III: THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF DATE PRODUCTION AND INTERNATIONAL
TRADE
1. World production and trade
2. Date exports
3. Date imports
4. European markets
Chapter IV: CLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS OF DATE PALM
1. Temperature requirements
2. Rain effect
3. Air relative humidity
4. Wind
5. Light
Chapter V: DATE PALM PROPAGATION
1. Introduction
2. Seed propagation
3. Offshoot propagation
4. Tissue culture propagation
5. Acclimatisation and hardening-off of tissue culture-produced date plants
Chapter VI: LAND PREPARATION, PLANTING OPERATION AND FERTILISATION
REQUIREMENTS

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I. Land preparation
II. Planting operation
III. Fertilisation requirements
Chapter VII: DATE PALM IRRIGATION
1. Introduction
2. Factors infl uencing water requirements
3. Different irrigation techniques
4. Methods for calculating date palm water requirements
5. Leaching
6. Scheduling
7. Layout of date palm orchard and irrigation
Chapter VIII: POLLINATION AND BUNCH MANAGEMENT
I. Pollination
II. Fruit thinning
Chapter IX: DATE HARVESTING, PACKINGHOUSE MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING
ASPECTS
1. Introduction
2. Harvesting considerations
3. Facilities and process
4. Harvesting and packaging consideration for some important commercial date varieties
5. Other date palm products and by-products
6. Packinghouse management and quality standards
Chapter X: ESTABLISHMENT OF A MODERN DATE PLANTATION
1. Introduction
2. Technical establishment of a date plantation
3. Financial establishment of a date palm plantation
Chapter XI: DATE PALM TECHNICAL CALENDAR
1. Introduction
2. Technical calendar for planting tissue culture plants - follow up during the first year
3. Technical calendar for a date palm plantation older than 4/5 years
Chapter XII: DISEASES AND PESTS OF DATE PALM
1. Introduction
2. Fungal diseases of date palm
3. Phytoplasmic diseases of date palm
4. Diseases of unknown cause of date palm
5. Physiological disorders of date palm
6. Major pests of date palm
References
Back cover

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