Varietal Evaluation of Introduced Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) under Irrigated Condition of Afar Region, Ethiopia
Year: 2022
Type: article
Abstract: The Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of the oldest and best-known cultivated fruit trees.The fruit is composed of very nutritive minerals like potassium, calcium, iron, chlorine, phosphorus, and magnesium.The tree can withstand relatively harsh climate and soil conditions, which no other crop can match.In Ethiopia, date palm is cultivated and/or wildly grown in the Afar, Dire Dawa, Somali, Gambella and Benishangul Gumuz regions.However, the yields of local cultivars are too low to meet the sharply increasing demand.Thus, research has been conducted to evaluate and register the best-performing, desirable yield and quality of introduced improved varieties.Fourteen ( 14) tissue-cultured introduced materials from England and Israel were planted at 10m x 10m spacing between rows and plants over three locations, viz., Werer Agricultural Research Center (WARC), Assiyta, and Afambo districts.Two varieties (Barhee and Medjool), early fruiting types, were individually evaluated out of 12 varieties on the basis of fruit yield for two years at WARC, while vegetative parameters were taken from the other locations.The study revealed that Barhee and Medjool were superior to the remaining date palm varieties.The annual yield advantage of Barhee (68.39 kg tree-1 ) over Medjool (50.87 kg tree-1 ) was 34.44%.The high offshoot production potential of Barhee and Medjool varieties could reduce the purchase of imported tissue-cultured date palms by the country as well as individuals.In conclusion, the newly released varieties Barhee and Medjool could be cultivated profitably and sustainably for commercial cultivation in the low land areas of the Afar regional state and other similar agro-ecology, and could also increase the income of smallholder farmers and agro-pastoralists.
Language: English
Topic: Date Palm Research Studies
Subfield: Plant Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4365398861