نخلة التمر : شجرة الحياة في المناطق القاحلة

الملخص EN

The Date Palm is the oldest fruit tree known and cultivated by man.

It has been described as the tree of life in the subtropical desert because witticism it the history to man in those regions could have been written differently.

It is unique in providing many uses, besides the fruit which is a stable and dependable food and has long been used without any nutritional problems, other parts of the palm are often made use of e g.

snatch covers, bunch stalks seeds fibers leaves, stem wood.

Even ones which has multiplicity of uses.

however, inspire of the benefits provided In the Date Palm, traditional cultural practices are still dominating and lea research results find practical field application The major developmental activities required in regions Of traditional cultivation are : 1.

Removal of the old sterling palms with low qualify fruits and replacement by high quality cultivars.

2.

Proper application of cultural practices like irrigation, fertilizer application, pollination and fruit thinning.

3.

Proper control of pass and diseases affecting the palm and the fruits at all the developmental stages.

The Future is for the Date Palm : Two events (if major importance m Date Palm luster are : 1.

The Barium Disease : More than ten million palms belonging to sensitive Sulrivars in Morocco and Algeria were destroyed this serious disease which has first been deflected sometime before 1870.

2.

Tissue Culture : The major breakthrough in dale palm culture in the 20th century has been the propagation by tissue culture, because it puts an end to the problem which has been lacing the Date Palm for a long time.

Development of Date Palm Culture: Developmental activities in the Date Palm field were very slow.

However, some efforts were made since the 7th and 8th centuries the Arabs who were responsible for the distribution of the fruit to most of the regions w here it exists.

Proper research started in at the 1 S.D a Date and Citrus Research station in INDIO California at the beginning of the 19th century and up to S979.

Research results were presented in annual meetings and published in Date Growers' Institute Report which stopped at 54th animal report in I971).

The FAQ Regional Project for Palm and Dates Research Center in the Middle East and North Africa took over during the period (1978-1984) in Baghdad.

Date Palm Research and Development Network Project : The Network Project was established in 1994 to replace the region project.

The main objective of the project was to stop further decline in date palm production and improve yield and qualify of the produce.

The Network Project Outputs : During Phase I of the project during 1994-1998, the outputs include the following : - Establishment of a sub network system covering cultivar improvement, production techniques, integrated pest management and socio-economic studies programmers, each of first three sub networks covering several research trials and the last one prepared several studies covering most participating countries Several papers were presented in two symposiums held in Tunisia and Morocco.

- Dissimulation of mlormalion and new technology in the field of tissue culture and through the consultation activities.

- Raining programmers for 83 research workers and technicians from the 12 participating countries.

- Purchasing of laboratory and field equipment and applies for the participating countries.