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Home , Arecaceae, Date palm

dactylifera L.

Species description The date palm is a monocot cultivated in dry tropical regions worldwide for its edible sweet . Date palms have erect, columnar trunks and spreading crowns of light to dark grey-green pinnate . Date palms may have one to several suckering offshoots at the base. In cultivation, offshoots are removed for propagation. If not removed, the offshoots will grow into dense, multiple-trunked palms. On date palms, the basal leaflets are modified into spines, and the leaflets tend to hang down from mid-rib, which ends in a terminal leaflet. Date palms are dioecious; the males do not bear fruit, but must be present for . Date are oblong, elliptical, with flesh sweet to astringent, and they vary in size, shape and color depending on . Date palms can grow 40-90 feet tall and live for 150 . The palms can withstand brief periods down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Date palms will at temperatures above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and will produce fruit at temperatures above 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Date palms need a long, hot season to mature fruit. They do not have a dormant season chill requirement.

Natural and cultural history Date palms grow in hot, arid regions throughout the world. Date palms are adapted to systems in arid regions with low rainfall. Dates have been cultivated since ancient times from and Babylonia to prehistoric . Date palms may have originated more than 6,000 years ago in ancient Mesopotamia in southern or in western , though its origins are obscured in history. Date palms may be descended from one or several within the Phoenix . Date palms spread along trade routes by camel caravans in the 6th century onward, as camels carried offshoots between oases. Dates were an important, easily stored and transported food source, and the trunks were used a building material and the fronds for roofing, matts and baskets. Date palm dispersal followed the expansion of , reaching southern . Spanish introduced date palms into . Date palms provided the food- source to support large populations in arid regions.

Planting considerations and propagation techniques Date palms grow on a wide variety of soil types from sand to clay. They are very tolerant of saline conditions, but highly saline environments may reduce yield and fruit quality. Date palms

may need high amounts of irrigation in soils with poor water-holding capacity, and may grow poorly in Hardpans and perched aquifers that constrict root-growth. The palms are frequently planted as an over-story species in mixed cropping systems. Date palms are larger than may be expected (12 feet in diameter or more when young), and very spiny, so care should be taken in their placement, especially in public spaces. Date palms are typically reproduced via vegetative offshoots. Young date palms can produce between 10-30 offshoots that can be cut from the parent plant once the offshoots when they are three to five years old. Seedlings do not grow true to their parent.

Water needs Date palms require a large volume of water to grow properly and produce high quality fruit. They can withstand long periods of drought in hot conditions, but become stunted and unproductive under prolonged drought. A mature date palm may use between 25,000-80,000 gallons of water per , depending on soil-water holding capacity and upon the evapotranspiration potential. Flood irrigation is the oldest method of irrigation and is still widely practiced. Date palm orchards are typically watered every one to two weeks during the summer and every three to four weeks during the winter.

Care Date palms are dioecious with separate male and female . They are primarily wind pollinated, but can be insect pollinated as well. Date palms are typically pollinated by hand to improve yield. One male plant can pollinate up to 50 female plants. Pruning involves trimming dead and dying leaves from the . Basal spines are also cut from the leaves to make pollination and harvest easier. Date palms are primarily affected by fungal pathogens. Methods of pest and disease control include good hygiene practices, planting disease-free offshoots, fruit thinning to reduce moisture, bagging fruit, and changing irrigation practices. Rodents can be a problem in a date orchard. They may eat the fruit on the , and burrowing rodents can damage roots. Weeds in the orchard can be alternate hosts to pathogens.

Harvesting and processing Dates can be eaten fresh or dried. Fresh dates can be consumed from the Khalal stage (crunchy) to the Tamar stage (soft and sugary). Dates are often only eaten in the Khalal stage in cooler regions where the fruit do not have time to properly mature. Mature dates can be eaten soft, semi-dry, or dry. They can be pressed into large cakes for storage. Fresh dates can be made into date or date . Sap from the date palm can be fermented into beer or ; can be made from the tree’s pith; oil can be pressed from the ; and the palm heart can be eaten in salads.

2 References and resources Aschmann, H., 1957. The introduction of date palms into Baja . Economic Botany 11 (2), 174-177. de Grenade, R. 2013. Date palm as keystone species in peninsula, Mexico oases. Journal of Arid Environments 94: 59-67. Hodel, D. R. and D. V. Johnson. 2007. Dates: Imported and American Varieties of Dates in the United States. University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Publication 3498, Oakland, CA. Meerow, A.W. 2008. Phoenix dactylifera, date palm, pp. 138-151. Eds. Janick, J. and R.E. Paull. The Encyclopedia of Fruit and Nuts. CABI Publishing, Cambridge, MA. Popenoe, P., 1973. The Date Palm. Field Research Projects, Miami, FL. Rivera, D., D. Johnson, J. Delgadillo, M. H. Carrillo, C. Obón, R. Krueger, F. Alcarez, S. Ríos, and E. Carreño. 2012. Historical evidence of the Spanish introduction of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L., Arecaceae) into the Americas. Genetic Resources and Crop Evolution. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10722-012-9932-5.

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