Potential of Date Palm Micropropagation for Improving Small Farming Systems

Abstract

The date palm multiplication by tissue culture is very helpful in some definite cases including the propagation of cultivars resistant to diseases such as bayoud, propagation of rare and elite cultivars in high demand and propagation of new cultivars adapted to particular ecological and socioeconomic conditions. However, several essential precautions must be taken to prevent counterproductive and damaging results. It is especially necessary to adopt measures to avoid accelerating erosion of date palm agro-diversity by propagating a small number of cloned cultivars. It is also indispensable to employ a regeneration process assuring the genetic conformity of tissue-culture palms that are eventually distributed to farmers. It is recommended to avoid the use of the somatic embryogenesis approach which may produce seriously abnormal plants; whereas, strict organogenesis assures genetic stability. Finally, an assessment of the date palm sector must be achieved in relation to environmental, economic and social issues before a decision is made to initiate any massive tissue culture production program. Indeed, in many date palm growing countries, the limiting factors in the development of new date palm plantations are shortage of water and unfavorable socioeconomic trends, rather than the shortage of offshoots.