Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan

Chapter 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan Adel A. Abul-Soad, Shaimaa M. Mahdi, and Ghulam S. Markhand Abstract Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the third most important fruit crop after citrus and mango in Pakistan. This crop is found in all four provinces of Pakistan on 90,000 ha with a production of around 600,000 mt yr−1. Pakistan’s position is always among the seven largest producers and exporters of dates in the world. Sindh and Balochistan provinces contribute more than 90 % of production and crop area in Pakistan. In Sindh, Khairpur is the biodiversity center having more than 300 date palm cultivars. Date palm has a very strong effect on socioeconomic activities of the area. The top Pakistani cultivars are Aseel, Dhakki, Begum Jangi, Rabai, and Muzawati. Pakistani date fruit is being exported as fresh, dry, or chohara. Most date-processing factories in Pakistan are located in Khairpur. This chapter provides basic information describing date palm cultivation in Pakistan, major flood-affected date palms and fruit, protection from monsoon rains, the first commercial trial for date palm micropropagation using inflorescence explants at the Date Palm Research Institute (DPRI) at Khairpur, and major date palm problems generally in Pakistan, including diseases and pests, with emphasis on the Khairpur and Balochistan areas, and date fruit drying through the use of solar dryers. Keywords Chloroplast DNA • Cultivars • Date palm diseases • Floods • Monsoon rains • Solar dryer • Molecular markers • Tissue culture A.A. Abul-Soad (*) Botany Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, 9 Cairo University St., Orman, Giza 12619, Egypt e-mail: adelaboelsoaud@gmail.com S.M. Mahdi Tropical Fruit Department, Central Agricultural Pesticides Laboratory (CAPL), Agricultural Research Center, Al Giza, Egypt e-mail: shiminour@gmail.com G.S. Markhand Bioassay Department, Date Palm Research Institute (DPRI), Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan e-mail: gmarkhand@gmail.com © Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2015 J.M. Al-Khayri et al. (eds.), Date Palm Genetic Resources and Utilization: Volume 2: Asia and Europe, DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-9707-8_5 153 154 5.1 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. Introduction Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.), or khajoor in the local language, is called the tree of divine providence and provides livelihood to many people. The presence of date seeds in the excavation of Mohenjo Daro (an archaeological site at Larkana, Sindh province) storage godown indicates that there was date palm cultivation in Sindh as early as 5,000 years old (Ahmad and Smead 2005; Kumar 2009; Marshal 1931). Some researchers believe that date palm was brought to the Indian subcontinent by Alexander the Great (Nixon 1951; Pasha et al. 1972). Another school of thought believes that date palm was probably found before Alexander the Great as the soldiers of his army fed on harvested dates from Kech valley of Balochistan during traveling along the Makran coast in the fourth century BC (Qasim and Naqvi 2012). Then dates were spread in Sindh by Mohammed Bin Qasim in 712 AD along with the Islamic religion. Arab soldiers discarded date seeds at camp sites during wars, from which date palms grew and flourished in the Indus Valley (Ahmad and Tahir 2005; Dhillon et al. 2005; Jatoi et al. 2010). Since the dawn of ancient history, the date palm has been an important source of food for the Arabian Peninsula (Beech 2003; Popenoe 1913). In the last century and during the colonial period of the Indian subcontinent, a number of Arabian date palm cultivar offshoots were imported in 1910–1912 from Basra (Iraq) by the British Indian Government and planted in Multan and Muzaffar Garh (Punjab). These cultivars were Halawy, Khadrawy, Sayer, Zahidi, and Dayri (Milne 1918). The date palm tree provides communities in rural areas of Pakistan with many benefits. People eat dates as high-energy food. During Ramadan, Muslims break their fast each day by eating dates. Wood from the tree is used to build homes and to make artifacts and is chopped and burned for fuel. Palm fronds are used to make handicrafts and leaflets to weave fruit baskets and mats. Pakistan is the seventh largest producer of dates with a total production of 557,279 mt in 2011 and is rated among the largest producers of date palm in the world from different cultivars, grown over 93,088 ha. On average the yield of dates is 59,866 hg ha−1 (hectogram per hectare) in 2011 which is very low as compared to Egypt, the largest producer in the world, 329,773 hg ha−1 (FAOSTAT 2013). It is worth mentioning that Pakistan also is the largest exporter in the world. The major countries importing both dried and fresh dates from Pakistan are India, USA, UK, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Malaysia, and Indonesia (FAOSTAT 2013). The major cultivars are Begum Jangi of Balochistan, Aseel of Sindh, and Dhakki of Dera Ismail Khan. Dates are grown in all four provinces of Pakistan. The main date-producing areas are Kech (the administrative center is Turbat) and Panjgur (Balochistan), Khairpur and Sukkur (Sindh), Jhang, Dera Ghazi Khan (Dera Ismail Khan), Muzaffar Garh, Multan and Bahawalpur (Punjab), and Dera Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). Table 5.1 shows comparative date production, production area, and yield of dates in Pakistan (Pakistan Statistical Year Book 2012). 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 155 Table 5.1 Area, production, yield, and ranking of dates in Pakistan (2010–2011) Area Balochistan Sindh Punjab Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan total Area (ha) 50,100 32,700 5,800 1,500 Production (mt) 204,300 268,600 42,500 8,600 Yield per ha (kg) 4,078 8,214 7,328 5,733 90,100 524,000 5,816 % area 55.6 36.92 6.43 1.66 % production 38.98 51.25 8.11 1.64 It is clear that Balochistan and Sindh provinces account for about 90 % of the total Pakistan date production and the harvested area. However, dispersed date palm cultivation of less than 10 % of the total harvested area is carried out in a few places in the provinces of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), which are located in northern Pakistan where the temperatures are low; annual average temperature is 25 °C. 5.1.1 Current Date Palm Problems There are a number of problems and limitations for the development of the date palm industry, which include all activities related to date palm, e.g., production, protection, and processing. The problems vary among the four provinces of Pakistan. Monsoon rains during the ripening of date fruit are always the most serious risk and the largest challenge facing Pakistani growers. Irregular rainfall from the end of June to August can destroy the entire crop whether on the tree or date fruit curing on mats. Use of bunch covers is not cost effective, especially with the lower-quality cultivars and high relative humidity. The unavailability of tissue-cultured palms of local elite cultivars is hindering the establishment of new plantations and spreading the problems associated with conventional methods using small offshoots. Modern equipment and mechanical lines of factories, limited number of high-quality local cultivars, hygiene, and lack of cold storage facilities are major problems facing the date-processing sector in Pakistan. In the Sindh date palm area, Khairpur district, growers have been suffering from an emerging pest for the last one to two decades, which is destroying many date palms. Red palm weevil (RPW) causes losses of date palms particularly in abandoned orchards. A local treatment and early diagnoses of symptoms are used to control RPW in Pakistan. Termites, date palm lesser moth, and stem borers are among the major pest problems affecting date palm not only in the Sindh but all over Pakistan. In Balochistan province, limited water resources and dependence on conserved water in the aquifers to irrigate date palm orchards necessitate installation of new irrigation systems such as drip irrigation to save water and avoid yield reduction during drought periods. Dubas bugs, which suck the sap of leaflets of date palm, A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 156 became a major threat in Kech district, particularly with the high usage of chemical treatment to control the pest infestation levels during the last couple of decades. Rodents, i.e., rats, attack the trunk of date palms and destroy newly planted offshoots in the northwest of the province. In Punjab and KPK, in addition to monsoon rains, the humid climate of above 60 % relative humidity and low temperature, below 25 °C during fruit development and ripening stages, restrict the type of cultivars to the soft or semidry dates and reduce fruit quality (Abul-Soad 2013b). In this chapter, these problems are addressed in detail, and the efforts made by Pakistani scientists and others to solve these problems are discussed (Table 5.3). 5.2 5.2.1 Cultivation Practices Description of Current Cultivation Practices Date palm is an important crop of Sindh province, mainly grown in Khairpur and Sukkur districts. Almost 85 % of the Sindh dates are produced in Khairpur alone. Date palm production is a major source of income for local growers. In Khairpur, maximum benefit is gained through intercropping with other plant species under the canopy of date palms (average temperature in summer is 30–35 °C). Date palms allow other species such as maize, banana, wheat, rice, alfalfa, and vegetables to thrive in terms of growth. Some of these plant species need full sun and frequent irrigation such as rice and wheat. Subsequently the distance between adult date palms is sometimes increased to reach 10 m to allow light penetration to cereal crops (Fig. 5.1). The relative productivity of adult date palm trees has decreased. Fig. 5.1 Intercropping of rice with date palm trees at Khairpur 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 157 Newly established date palms, 3–4 years old, also have been affected. Flood irrigation has occasionally caused water to enter the young central fronds of the trees and cause fungal infection from Diplodia disease (Abul-Soad 2011a). In principle, there is no contradiction between the date palm and other intercropped species in terms of fertilizer application. Nevertheless, growers formerly ignored specific application recommendations for date palms while they applied fertilizer for the intercrops. Date palm responds positively to the lateral addition of organic and inorganic fertilizers, but the focus is on nitrogen fertilizer sources required for wheat and rice. Daily flood irrigation might be causing problems for the date palm roots especially if there is present the soilborne fungus which causes palm wilt (Fusarium solani). Furthermore, a suspicion exists that short intervals of frequent irrigation, leading to waterlogging, could be one of the reasons for date palm decline in Khairpur where the intercropping is a common practice. Intercropping with fruit crops, such as banana and citrus, is preferred over cereals and maize crops which require frequent water supplement. It is worth mentioning that during the date harvest season in Khairpur, a new settlement is created associated with different activities of the date palm for a period of about 2 months (July–August). Many people earn their livelihood from the date palm. It is like a large festival which can be seen everywhere in the area. The growers are picking the rutab fruit of different cultivars, harvesting the khalal fruit to make chohara, the local name given to the boiled date fruit at khalal stage (before ripening). Harvested fruits are boiled for 15–30 min and then spread on mats, made from date palm fronds, and dried in the sun for 5–6 days to obtain chohara. This is practiced in order to harvest early to avoid the monsoon rain damage threat in July and August (Abul-Soad 2012b). After drying, the fruits were transported by tractor trolleys within the area (Fig. 5.2). The settlements are made up of temporary immigrants from surrounded areas that have come for work and are a common sight in Khairpur. Also, the odor of chohara is in the air during these months at Khairpur. The city of dates has become the cynosure of date exporters to look for a business opportunity to ship Khairpur dates abroad while international demand is increasing. Fig. 5.2 Curing boiled date fruit at khalal stage on mats under solar radiation and open air for 5–6 days 158 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. In Khairpur, growers are accustomed to manually pick the early-ripening fruit of Aseel and other cultivars, by climbing the palm and shaking the bunch a few times before finally cutting the fruit bunch. The fallen fruit are collected in baskets or shallow trays and lowered down by a rope to another person receiving fruit on the ground. The conventional practice to place the fruit bunches on the ground contaminates the fruit with dust and reduces fruit quality. In reality, the old practice should be updated by the international better practice to use plastic sheets beneath the date palm tree during harvest process to collect the harvested fruit bunches and keep fallen individual fruit free of dust. Fruits harvested at early rutab stage are often spread on mats made from the leaflets of date palm fronds. After 5–6 days of sun curing, partially dried dates are usually collected in wooden boxes. Ruptured skin (pericarp), reshaped, mashed, and rotten fruit cured on mats placed in a dusty place without any conscious effort to avoid contamination create technical problems related to cleaning the fruit in the processing factories. The majority of dates are usually harvested during khalal stage when the fruit is not yet edible, to avoid damage from the monsoon rains. Pakistan occupies a primary position in terms of date fruit exports with 121,681 mt (FAOSTAT 2013) due to chohara exports to India and Afghanistan. India was the second largest date importer in the world in 2010 (FAOSTAT 2013). Chohara is mainly used by Hindus for ritual celebration purposes not necessarily for eating. Without a doubt, this type of boiled date fruit would not be acceptable for human consumption in most of the date-importing countries due to its tannin taste, somewhat bitter, fibrous, and very dry. Nevertheless, in 2013 China placed an order for a container of chohara; hygienic analysis by the Chinese revealed 45 % contained dust particles although the fruits were washed before export. The requirements of the Chinese for chohara called for it to be packaged in transparent plastic bags of 500 g each, be labeled, be free from dust particles, and have an accreditation certificate. Hygienic handling through sun curing, sorting, transportation, and washing of chohara fruit with certified FAO detergents should resolve the problem. At Pir or Bethak, locations where trucks carrying date fruit bunches are unloaded by laborers, the fruit is manually detached from the fruit stalks. This is the conventional practice before the drying process in a solar dryer or curing on mats in the sun or making chohara. Fruit detachment process is usually carried out by pulling the fruit bunch over a wooden comb fixed in the ground (Fig. 5.3), a tedious and laborious process. The use of mechanical methods may be an alternative solution for the process that would help date palm growers save time and effort and reduce the end product cost. Near the end of the festival, another activity of date processing begins. It is packing the cured chohara date fruits, mostly in wooden boxes, handmade baskets, or jute sacks. Packed fruits are commonly transported by trucks to the Khajoor date market, which is called mandi (Sindh language) and bazaar (Urdu) at Khairpur or Sukkur. Dates usually come from everywhere in the country to be sold during August and early September to the processing factories as whole date fruit or for export as chohara. 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 159 Fig. 5.3 Pulling fruit bunches over a wooden comb to detach the fruit before they are boiled to make chohara 5.2.2 Practical Approach to Establish a New Date Palm Farm Establishing date palm nurseries is not a common practice in Pakistan, to grow out offshoots for field cultivation with a low mortality rate. Date palm growers customarily obtain small offshoots by separating them from the parent plant then cultivating them directly in the field; however, this carries a mortality rate which may reach 80 %. For transporting offshoots to distant areas, the outer fronds are trimmed off and offshoots of different sizes shipped by truck. Challenging the conventional wisdom in the date palm world, most of the growers prefer to establish new plantings during June and July, in the middle of summer. It is recommended that the spring or autumn months are the best time for offshoot cultivation to avoid high summer temperature and cold stress in winter. This is a reasonable practice under the current situation in Pakistan although there is a high infestation rate of RPW in winter. Typical mortality rates after offshoot cultivation are about 20–40 %. Moreover, in the Thar Desert in India, near the border of Sindh province, transplanting offshoots in the month of September showed higher survival (90 %) as against 65 % when transplanted in the months of March–April (Mertia et al. 2010). Growers in Pakistan commonly cultivate the detached offshoots within the same orchard, dispersing them among the adult date palms, which reduces the distance between trees and increases relative humidity (Fig. 5.4). This is the reason Graphiola leaf spot disease is widely spread in date palm orchards in Khairpur. The regular planting distance between palms is 5–6 m. However, with the addition of offshoots, the distance is reduced to 3–4 m in many cases in Sindh. Growers establishing new date palm cultivation should specify a suitable piece of land in the orchard for a small nursery and properly manage it. The distance between offshoots in the nursery could be reduced to 1–2 m in this case. After 1–2 years of proper management, i.e., fertilizer application, irrigation, and pest and disease management, the grown offshoots can be transplanted to the permanent site with an expected survival of close to 100 %. The common and A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 160 Fig. 5.4 Offshoots were commonly transplanted among adult trees for new cultivations in Sindh Fig. 5.5 Offshoots transplanted to their permanent sites to establish a new date palm farm in Sindh inappropriate (for date palms) practice of intercropping vegetables associated with frequent flood irrigation has resulted in 20–40 % of the established date palms being devastated by Diplodia phoenica infection, a fungus causing root rot. Only rarely are offshoots transplanted to a permanent location to establish a new farm such as the Jatoi Farm in Moro district, Sindh (Fig. 5.5). In such a case, the planted offshoots may take longer time to begin the fruiting stage (2–3 years) compared to the nursery offshoots (1–2 years). In addition to that, the date palm nursery assures reduced mortality, homogeneity in fruiting time, and more efficient use of land and provides a higher number of palms under better management. 5.2.3 Fertilizer Date palms need fertilizer like other cultivated crops. Intercropping with vegetables and other crops in Sindh, the poorly managed date palm plantations in Balochistan make chemical fertilization financially unviable. The only fertilizer use is through the addition of farm manure in winter, a practice found in Sindh. Nevertheless, there is an indirect application of chemical fertilizers through the amounts given to the intercropped species with date palm. It is important to mention that the soil of Sindh has Mg and P deficiency which requires exogenous application with a source for these major elements. A fertilizer program should be tailored to the date palms, especially 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 161 after the establishment phase for rapid and optimum growth. On the other hand, most date palm plantations are not regularly fertilized in other provinces. Moreover, many of the date palm plantations in Punjab are scattered and abandoned. Date palm can be grown in a wide range of soil types. Deep sandy soils with a good moisture supply are the best. Good drainage and aeration are the main soil requirements for ideal production. Date palm tree will grow in heavier soils, but care must be taken not to waterlog the soils. Date palms can grow in alkali and saline soils, but growth and productivity will be affected (Abul-Soad et al. 2008). A fertilizer application program should begin prior to cultivation in the permanent site, during the land preparation phase, and continue until the date palms reach adult status, at the optimum production phase (Table 5.2). Trade names in the recommended fertilizer programs represent examples from the Pakistani fertilizer market. These additives are: (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) NPK: 17–17–17 or 23–8–17 of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizer DAP: diammonium phosphate, 23 % P2O5 + 8 N/ 46 % P2O5 + 8 % K2O SOP: K2O, 50 % FM: farm manure in a raw form HA: humic acid (Biofertilizer, Biopower, Bluetus) Salt accumulates on the soil surface during January when irrigation is routinely stopped, and there is no water in the main irrigation canals of the Indus River. Salt accumulation is increasing in lower level lands. Heavy irrigation 1–2 times is required to leach the salt of such lands in the Sindh Valley. Due to the high pH of soil in Pakistan (alkali) which may reach 7–8.5, the preferred formulas of chemical fertilizers could be nitrogen in the form of ammonium sulfate (21 % N), phosphorus in the form of calcium superphosphate (45–47 % P2O5), potassium in the form of potassium sulfate (50 % K2O), and magnesium in the form of magnesium sulfate (27–33 % MgO). Unfortunately, fertilizer sources of MgO are virtually unavailable in Pakistan. 5.2.4 Irrigation Flood irrigation is the common practice when vegetables and other crops are intercropped with date palm, a practice which may be increasing the decline of disease infections associated with root rot. The common irrigation system for date palm plantation in Pakistan can be divided into two types: 5.2.4.1 Flood Irrigation Flood irrigation is practiced in Sindh, Punjab, and KPK provinces through smaller irrigation canals branching from the Indus River. This irrigation method is the oldest method known and widely applied in date palm cultivation. It has advantages of low running costs and easy water application, and initial costs are low if the area is fairly 162 Table 5.2 The annual fertilization program (in g palm−1 yr−1) for an adult productive date palm tree Fertilizers NPK DAP SOP FM HA Jan. – 500 – 50,000 – Feb. – – – – – Mar. 300 – – – 300 Apr. 300 500 – – – May 500 – 300 – – June 300 – 600 – – July 300 – 300 – – Aug. 300 500 – – – Sept. 300 – – – – Oct. – – – – – Nov. – – – – – Dec. – – – – – Total 2,300 1,500 1,200 50,000 300 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 163 flat. Disadvantages are low efficiency (percolation, time, and wasted area among trees), labor intensive, and does not work for sandy soils. Growers are of the opinion that this irrigation system may be responsible for date palm decline and mango degradation in Sindh. 5.2.4.2 Groundwater Irrigation This source is mainly used in Balochistan province where the desert environment is prevalent. Furthermore, the groundwater depth (availability) has a major impact on the uneven productivity of date palm in the desert areas of Balochistan. A drop of water level to 8–10 m has caused drought impact on the date palm forcing the growers to pump deeper groundwater for irrigation of the trees. The annual rainfall varies between 50 and 250 mm which recharges the aquifers (Abul-Soad et al. 2009). The daily net irrigation requirement (NIR) of date palm in such areas is varied from 97 L tree−1 d−1 in December to 854 L tree−1 d−1 in June according to a study undertaken by the Kuwait University at similar areas (Abdul-Salam and Al-Mazrooei 2007). In Saudi Arabia, the average daily water use of a mature date palm tree was estimated at 184.4 L tree−1 d−1 (Alamoud et al. 2012). The NIR of 1-year tissuecultured palms under Kuwait’s environment ranged between 23 and 27 m3 ha−1 yr−1 (Bhat et al. 2012). In fact, the water requirement is the same for the irrigated as well as nonirrigated plantations irrelevant of the water source. The minimum water requirement for one tree per year is estimated at 25 m3. That quantity of water is enough for minimal vegetative growth and yield. The minimum productivity of one date palm tree of the dominant Rabai cv. in northwestern Balochistan was estimated at 10 kg yr−1. The low productivity was after 3–4 years of drought (no rain) at those areas. Newly planted offshoots in these areas are, however, manually irrigated for a period of 2–3 years, especially during the first 6 months, until the young trees are able to extend their roots to reach the groundwater. The extent of date palm plantations is dispersed to isolated locations due to the availability of the groundwater in northwestern Balochistan. Thus, the plantations can be divided into two categories (Abul-Soad et al. 2009): (a) Irrigated plantations (furrow and basin irrigation): where the plantations are irrigated, the date palm tree will not extend its roots more than 2 m below the surface. If there is a deficiency of irrigation water, the tree will extend its roots to access the water in the range of its root system. In these areas where the plantations are irrigated, the groundwater is at a depth of over 17 m. Mature trees rely exclusively on pumped groundwater to provide the irrigation water, with the root systems adapted to the depth at which the water is available. The groundwater is deeper, and its access appears to be supported by the availability of cheap electricity and diesel fuel. Pumps powered by diesel engines are used, while some of the pumps are electric, sometimes the latter available from Iran. Water is delivered to the date palm plantations through unlined surface channels A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 164 connected to a holding basin or a small reservoir which is fed by a pump. The increasing cost of energy is likely to make irrigated agriculture uneconomic. In irrigated areas, plantations are irrigated approximately twice a week in the summer and once a week in the winter. (b) Nonirrigated plantations: the depth of groundwater typically is less than 4 m in these areas where the mature trees depend on the shallow groundwater and are not irrigated by the growers. Date palms can easily extend their roots to access the groundwater. Introduction of improved irrigation systems for the date palm plantations is required whether in the Indus River Basin or desert areas in Balochistan using drip, sprinkler, or micro irrigation. However, water management must take into account the level of skills available and will require training and education of the growers. Farmer organizations could be organized for the collective benefit of the growers, and the district authorities may have to be involved to organize the training, collecting of production, and marketing and to settle irrigation conflicts among date growers. 5.2.5 Flood-Affected Date Palms Excessive flooding occurred in Pakistan in August 2010. A torrent of water threatened date palms, mostly at Khairpur. Floodwater rose 1–3 m up the palm trunks in some areas of Khairpur. The impact on the tree and fruit of date palm was recorded (Abul-Soad 2010, 2011a). It was observed that some of the young trees (offshoots) of new plantations died, whereas the offshoots that still attached to parent trees were more tolerant. However, adult date palm trees were able to continue growth and development although the lower part of the trunk was entirely immersed in floodwater for a period of time (Fig. 5.6). Large air pockets in the root tissue apparently play a role in the respiratory system of the date palm tree (Barreveld 1993). Fig. 5.6 Flooded date palm orchards at Khairpur during monsoon rain in August 2010 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 165 Date palm is the cornerstone for the livelihood of people at Khairpur, and flooding hinders all activities in the area during and after the monsoon rain. Water covered the date palms and houses in the vicinity, as well. Moreover, the fruit crop from young trees bearing fruit bunches was covered with floodwater and completely destroyed. In addition, flooding stopped other date palm activities such as harvesting, processing, and curing in the sun. Some areas of Khairpur were protected by barriers made from soil mixed with stones, to avoid the water overflow during the flood. At the time of the flooding, a significant number of people who were living in unprotected areas were resettled by the government and other relief agencies in the date palm orchards. Date trees provided them shelter. Some of those people were the seasonal laborers who work in the date palm industry at Khairpur during the harvest season. Rain also had a deleterious impact on boiled fruit on mats which were nearly dried chohara, but fermented due to the rainfall. These fruits were collected and used to feed animals (Fig. 5.7). Date palms were subject to heavy rainfall for many days during the flooding. A positive result was that trees appeared flush with green afterward. Fruit production increased relatively in the following year through photosynthesis which expectedly has been enhanced by rainwater. In addition, soil conditions were, as expected, improved after floodwaters receded through the leaching of salts. Furthermore, river silt deposited after the flooding contributed to enhancing soil fertility as it is a good source of nutrients, particularly trace elements. No exceptional disease symptoms emerged, particularly of the wilt disease (or as known in Pakistan, sudden decline disease of date palm). About 1–2 months after floodwaters receded, regular agricultural activities resumed with intercropping under the date palms. Date fruits take approximately 180–210 days from fruit set until maturity. The stage sensitive to rainfall starts from full maturity (khalal stage) up to ripening (rutab and tamar stages). Summer monsoon rains always cause a problem for the date crop, particularly during July and August, whether fruits are still on the tree or being Fig. 5.7 Deleterious impact of rain on cured dates on mats which were used as animal feed A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 166 cured in the sun on mats. An alternative way is to cure date fruit artificially in controlled champers (dehydrators) or solar dryers. This process is necessary in order to dehydrate rutab fruit to reach the tamar stage (kharak in Urdu) where the fruit moisture content is less than 24 %. Nevertheless, the available dehydrator units are insufficient to handle the considerable amounts of dates during the harvest season. The harvesting process before the time of the monsoon rains is a critical period. Huge amounts of date fruit have to be harvested before the rains. Most of date palm areas in Pakistan experience monsoon rains; consequently, a plan should be prepared to minimize crop losses. A suggested plan may include: (a) Establishment of early cultivar plantations which can be harvested earlier and avoid the impact of the monsoon rains, e.g., Gajjar and Kasho Wari cvs. (b) Rain-resistant cultivars may be introduced such as Orabi cv. from Damietta Governorate, Egypt. It is a soft, late-season cultivar suited to coastal areas. (c) Using cost-effective covering material to protect the fruit bunches. (d) Using solar dryers to avoid curing dates in the open air on mats. 5.2.6 Fruit Bunch Covering Date palm is usually grown in dry and arid zones where a climate of hot dry summer and little rainy winter prevails. However, a few countries are faced with the monsoon rains during the fruit-ripening season in July, August, and September, such as Pakistan, Oman, Sahara Desert (Sahel) in Africa, and USA (southern California and Arizona). Rainfall can damage the date fruit within only 1–2 days. Rainfall for few intermittent hours can cause cracks in the epicarp (the outermost layer of the fruit) at late khalal stage of Otakin cv. in Khairpur (Fig. 5.8), whereas other cultivars at early green khalal stage are less damaged. Fig. 5.8 Cracks of date fruit epicarp caused by intermittent rainfall of a few hours accompanied by ambient humid conditions 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 167 There is a beneficial effect of a little rain by washing away dust and sand particles from the fruits. Zaid and de Wet (2002) mention that the amount of any particular rain is of less importance than the conditions under which it occurs. A light shower followed by a prolonged period of high relative humidity and clouds may cause more damage than heavy rain followed by clear weather and dry winds. However, the case in Sindh, KPK, and Punjab provinces is often different as the relative air humidity range is 50–60 % in July through September (SLUBGH 2013). Rain during fruit ripening causes the fruit to crack and ferment and then mold can develop. In order to protect the fruit bunches from monsoon rains, several types of covering material have been experimented with, such as bituminized paper, nylon bags, and Tyvek bags. No significant difference in chemical composition was recorded between covered and uncovered fruit bunches with bituminized paper (Abul-Soad et al. 2010). Bunch covering is, however, not only practiced against rain damage, but traditionally is also used to protect maturing fruit from birds and late season pests and prevent early ripening fruit from falling to the ground. Covered fruit bunches of Aseel cv. ripen a week earlier as compared to uncovered bunches in Khairpur (Abul-Soad et al. 2010). A bunch cover may capture heat inside the covers which accelerates the fruit ripening. To the contrary, it was reported that rainfall near harvesting lowers the temperature and delays ripening (Barreveld 1993). In Balochistan, covering baskets made from the date palm leaflets (baat) have been used to cover the date fruit bunches and protect them from hot, dry winds bearing sand particles, catching falling fruit, or to prevent over drying. Mesh bags and waterproof bags may be employed together to protect fruit bunches against rainfall and to realize other benefits. A unique type of bag (Tyvek®) recently appeared on the Pakistani market which has been used on other fruit crops for similar purposes (Fig. 5.9). Tyvek® is part of Fig. 5.9 Protection of the date fruit bunches from monsoon rains by Tyvek bags in Pakistan 168 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. a family of tough, durable sheet products used in a variety of applications. It is a product of DuPont Company which uses rolls of Tyvek paper to manufacture the covers. It is made from very fine high-density polyethylene fiber which makes Tyvek® fabric lightweight yet strong, vapor permeable, yet water, chemical, puncture, tear, and abrasion resistant. Subsidized Tyvek® bags were distributed among date palm growers all over Pakistan in 2010, but the trial failed. Growers stated that this type of bunch cover captured moisture within the bag and rapidly deteriorated the fruit. The number of spoiled fruit and fruit drop increased after bunches were covered with Tyvek bags (30–40 %). Such results turned the overwhelming majority of growers against their use. In fact, this type of bags may be feasible to cover date fruit bunches. The optimal use is to protect date fruits against monsoon rains; the appropriate time to cover fruit bunches of different cultivars at different places in Khairpur was investigated by DPRI, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, with aid from DuPont Pakistan and the Agribusiness Support Fund (ASF) (Abul-Soad et al. 2010). In reality, the size of the Tyvek bags might need to be modified to fit the variable sizes of fruit bunches. Bags should not be tied at the base, leaving the lower portion of the fruit bunch exposed to the air for more ventilation. Fruit bunches can be safely covered 1–3 weeks before harvest in July, at the site where the experiment has been conducted. The climate varies within Khairpur area itself which may affect covered fruit bunches. Covered fruit bunches near the mountains mature earlier than other areas due to the dry weather and high temperatures. Early-ripening cultivars of dates always have the advantage to gain higher revenue since they reach the retail market first. It was noted that the Fasli/Toto cultivar was very sensitive to fruit drop if the harvest is delayed. The usual harvesting time of a cultivar must be taken into consideration when a grower needs to harvest the covered fruit bunches. The covered fruit bunches of Fasli cv. must be harvested 1 week earlier (last week of June) than the traditional harvesting time of this cultivar (first week of July). Otherwise, moisture and mold are subsequently going to increase inside the bag, and the spoilage rate will subsequently increase, and eventually 90 % of fruits will fall. Due to climate change, harvest time may be delayed 1–2 weeks after a prolonged winter season. Covering fruit bunch was found to be a time-consuming process; a single date palm tree needs the efforts of one or two laborers for 30–45 min at least to cover all bunches with Tyvek bags. Fears about moisture accumulation inside the bag remain the main concern of growers. In general, covering fruit bunches is a good practice to protect them from birds, pests, dust, as well as monsoon rains. The collected fallen fruit inside the net cover also helps avoid pest and disease problems in the following season. Using covers should be carried out with a complete package of proper instructions according to the needs of local cultivars, prevailing conditions at the cultivation area and time of covering. 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 5.2.7 169 Pruning and Dethorning of Fronds and Pollination Approaches Pakistani growers mostly carry out frond pruning of adult trees after harvest in August and before spathe emergence in February. The third occasion is during pollination in March and April. The lower 2–3 whorls of fronds are cut and 15 cm of the base left in place to be used as steps to climb the tree for the common practice of manual pruning. Simultaneously 2–3 leaf whorls are retained on the tree beneath where the spathes are developing. Thus those fronds can help support the heavy fruit bunches to avoid bunch stalk break, in most of the cultivars. During the pruning operation, unwanted offshoots are removed to encourage growth of the parent palm and remaining offshoots and to allow better access to the bearing palm. Removal of spines is called dethorning. With a pruning knife, date spines are usually removed from the new growth of fronds in the crown of the palm just before the pollination season to allow easy access to the date spathes as they bloom. Such an operation will ensure a safe approach to the spathes for their pollination and also avoid any risk of injury to laborers during other technical practices (e.g., tying fruit bunches down, covering of bunches, and harvesting). In most of date palm countries, including Pakistan, the traditional pollination technique is to place a few male spikelets in the center of the opened female spathe. Artificial pollination can be done according to the traditional method or by using a mechanized device. The number of spikelets depends on the cultivar and climatic conditions. For instance, 4–5 male spikelets are used for pollination of Aseel cv. to achieve good fruit quality. On the other hand, date palms in mountain areas, where the climate is dry and hot, some growers use only 2–3 spikelets. It would be a good idea to introduce powerful and famous males to Pakistan to improve the fruit quality such as Khikri Adi and Ghannami Akhdar (Abdul Wahid et al. 2010). Fruit quality depends mainly on the pollen grain source. Growers typically obtain male spathes at the beginning of the season from the market with wide variation in quality (Fig. 5.10). Using stored pollen grains for pollination is not a practice Fig. 5.10 Fresh spathe market at Khairpur as a source of pollen grains used for pollination A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 170 Fig. 5.11 Mechanical pollinator donated by FAO to DPRI and date palm growers in 2010 followed in Pakistan. Nevertheless, a study to evaluate the pollen viability of different date palm cultivars growing in the Punjab showed that the stored pollen of Khadrawi cv. at−20 °C had higher germination ability (71 %) after 12 months of storage compared with Hillawi cv. (34 %). This study also found that the pollen grains needed 24 h after thawing to germinate on an in vitro medium at 30 °C compared to lower temperatures (20 and 25 °C). Air-dried pollen is enclosed in sealed capsules before storage (Maryam et al. 2013). Mechanical pollination was developed mostly in the USA where labor is expensive and not always available. It has been one of the most important alternatives to reduce associated labor costs by 50–70 % (Galeb et al. 1987; Nixon and Carpenter 1978). The FAO office at Islamabad, in 2010, donated a few pollinator machines which were made in UAE to progressive growers in Balochistan and Khairpur and also to DPRI (Fig. 5.11). But most of the growers avoided using them for reasons such as the high price of fuel, tall trees, dense plantations, intercropping, lack of technical training of usage, small property, and the large quantity of pollen grains needed to fill the machine tank. 5.2.8 Pest and Disease Control Date palm trees in Sindh, particularly Khairpur, suffer from a lethal disease called sudden decline syndrome (Abul-Soad et al. 2011; Maitlo et al. 2013). Symptoms resemble those of similar wilt diseases, such as palm lethal yellowing caused by Phytoplasma which is a fatal disease of coconut and also infectious to date palm (Al Awadhi et al. 2002; Ammar et al. 2005; Thomas 1974). The drying of fronds exhibited in date palm decline disease is also similar to symptoms of bayoud disease caused by Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht. f. sp.albedinis in Morocco and Algeria (Djerbi 1982). 171 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan a b Fig. 5.12 (a) Healthy date palm tree, (b) tree infected with sudden decline disease in Khairpur The common symptoms of sudden decline syndrome in Khairpur start with an orange-yellowish rachis followed by gradual drying of the pinnae. Drying starts from old lower fronds and moves toward younger central fronds and finally with a complete dried crown followed by death within 6 months (Fig. 5.12). The disease may afflict adult date palm trees in winter preventing spathe emergence in February, or infection may occur during fruit development in summer causing immature and unripe fruit formation. Age is not a factor for a date palm tree to be infected with the disease in view of the fact that all ages showed common symptoms; however, males were found to be less infected than productive females. Among the females, unhealthy trees and those growing under adverse conditions, particularly waterlog stress, were more vulnerable. There is a suspicion that the presence of an infection source (Fusarium solani) associated with an adverse condition of waterlogged soils may be responsible for the date palm decline disease in Khairpur. All the infected trees showed root rot symptoms with vascular root tissues turning brown (2 cm in width) at 60 cm depth. Therefore, the number of roots decreased, and the normal roots were white and newly emerged (Fig. 5.13). It appears that soil conditions become unsuitable for adult root growth, and the tree attempts to bring forth new adventitious roots to survive. Intercropping with date palm and associated frequent flood irrigation leading to waterlogging may be the cause. At present it is a critical period for this disease. The number of infected trees is increasing day by day in Khairpur and surrounding districts without a cost-effective and viable solution. A method was developed to treat the diseased date palms consisting of a fourtiered procedure. This procedure included cutting off infected fronds, foliar application of copper oxychloride (0.5 % solution), soil application of Topsin M (0.3 % solution), and chemical fertilizer application (Maitlo et al. 2013). Taking into consideration the adverse impact of waterlogging, measures have to be made to improve soil drainage. 172 a A.A. Abul-Soad et al. b Fig. 5.13 Root rot associated with the sudden decline disease. (a) The vascular colorization of infected roots, (b) healthy roots of date palm at 60 cm depth in clay soil On the other hand, concerted efforts with sanitary procedures should be taken to prevent the transmission of the disease to other producing areas. Also, cost-effective and innovative solutions should be created to control such a major disease in Khairpur. An extensive survey was made by DPRI, Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, during 2009 on the tissue boring pest of date palm, red palm weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus Oliver). The survey covered 46 orchards of 8 different locations at Khairpur area. Results of the survey indicated that 219 date palms (5.81 %) were infested with RPW. The pest incidence revealed that the maximum infestation percentage was 9.29 % for trees 8–10 years old, followed by 7.96 % for trees in the 11–15-year-old age group. However, trees 35–40 years of age had a very low infestation incidence (0.02 %), (Jatoi et al. 2010). In Khairpur, the most tolerant cultivars with a lower infestation percentage against RPW were Muzawati (8 %) followed by Pathri (12 %), Thothar (15 %), and Khar and Shakkri (16 %). Those cultivars which suffered a high infestation rate were Karbaline, Dedhi, Fasli, Aseel, and Eidan Shah (Shar et al. 2012). The clearcut symptom of RPW infestation is brown sap oozing from the trunk associated with a bad smell or strong evidence of holes in the trunk where the larvae make tunnels to enter the tree. Offshoots are particularly vulnerable to RPW mostly at the point in where they are joined to the mother palm (Fig. 5.14). The conventional method to deal with an infested tree is to keep monitoring date palm trees in the orchard to discover any early infestations by RPW. The control treatment starts once the grower sees brown sap oozing from the trunk or the surrounded offshoots (Fig. 5.14a). If it was an early infestation, the larvae are removed from the tunnels and the wound covered with clay. But if the infestation is heavy, the superficial tissue around the trunk base is removed with a metal tool and any larvae found collected and destroyed. Tablets of Phostoxin or/and pieces of natural stone of calcium carbide are inserted into this tissue by hand. The base of the trunk is covered by a mud mix made of a pesticide solution (malathion at 0.3 %) clay and wheat or rice straw (Fig. 5.14b). A few tubes may be inserted above the covered area of the trunk and frequently filled with any suitable pesticide. In addition, fertilizer treatment 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan a 173 b Fig. 5.14 Infestation and control of red palm weevil. (a) Symptoms of infection in adult trees, brown sap with bad smell, (b) controlled date palm tree after remedy application with N-P-K chemical fertilizer was applied (500 g NPK Zarkhaze 17–17–17) every 15 days before irrigation. Pheromone traps are used to survey and control any RPW infestation, but it is not a common practice in Pakistan. In a study conducted in the Therhi area, Khairpur district, 18–21 adults of RPW were captured during the first, second, and third week of July (Shar et al. 2012). Heavy fruit drop in Dhakki cv. has become a serious problem for the growers at Dera Ismail Khan. More than 70 % of the date fruits dropped before maturity compared to 10 % for other cultivars. About 15 % regular fruit drop every month of Dhakki cv. was recorded (Marwat et al. 2012). Also, the irregular fruit drop of Dhakki cv. has been noted at other locations in Sindh (Abul-Soad 2011a). In reality, it might be a genetic character for that cultivar. The dried fruit beetle (Carpophilus hemipterus L.) is a cosmopolitan pest that attacks a large number of agricultural commodities both before and after harvest (Bartelt et al. 1990). Host species include onion and wheat which are widely cultivated with the date palm in all four provinces. Dried fruit beetle could be the main pest causing the late date fruit drop in Pakistan. Dried fruit beetle was detected to vastly infest fruit at late stage during harvesting seasons in Khairpur and Dera Ismail Khan (Fig. 5.15a). The adult female, 4 mm in length, can lay 500–1,000 eggs, and within a single month these will reach adult stage to attack other fruits. It attacks fruit of soft, semidry, and dry dates and also can attack stored dates. Measures that could be used to control such pest are: (a) Fruit bunches should be covered with nylon or net covers once fruits start taking color, to prevent adult attack. Collecting the infested fruit after harvest and burning it is recommended. (b) Trap baits of 1:1:1 mixture of acetaldehyde, ethyl acetate, and ethanol (Smilanick et al. 1978). (c) Using pheromones mixed with dates. A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 174 a b c d e f g h Fig. 5.15 Symptoms of some major problems affecting date palms in Pakistan. (a) Dried fruit beetle infestation during fruit ripening; (b) frond bases infested with termites; (c) early fruitlets dropped 2 months after fruit set showing the healthy, damaged, and infested fruit; (d) dwarf date palms growing in saline soil and low soil percolation; (e) symptoms of early infection of Graphiola leaf spot disease as yellow sori; (f) brown spots of dried leaflets of infected leaflets with Graphiola leaf spot disease; (g) fruit blemishes caused by high air humidity during khalal stage of Hillawi cv. in Jhang, Punjab province; (h) furrow caused by rat attacks on small offshoots in northern Balochistan 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 175 Termites infest an overwhelming majority of date palm trees in Khairpur, especially near the desert. Adult termites make tunnels in the fruit bunches and frond bases on the trunk (Fig. 5.15b). No attention has been paid to the control of this pest by either the Agriculture Department of Khairpur district or the growers, although agricultural practices and chemical treatment can reduce the damage. Early fruit dropping caused mainly by the date palm lesser moth (Batrachedra amydraula Meyr.) was detected in Khairpur, particularly in the Therhi area, and causes severe fruit loss 1–2 months after fruit set each year with more than 30 % loss. Symptoms can be recognized by the red, damaged small fruit on the ground (Fig. 5.15c). Also, most of the fallen fruits exhibit black spots near the cap (site of the infestation). Frequent chemical treatment every year with cypermethrin exacerbated the problem and produced resistant strains as the spray was not effective after a few years of application. The recommendation to control this problem is illustrated in Table 5.3. Elevating the soil level by 0.5–1.0 m is suggested to provide a new medium for the roots away from stagnant subsoil water, particularly in the saline soils of Table 5.3 Major problems facing date palm production and protection in Pakistan (Abul-Soad 2013b) Province Sindh Problem Monsoon rains Description Sudden rainfall during fruit ripening and harvesting season destroys fruit bunches, drying fruit on mats and small offshoots Sudden decline disease Yellowing then drying out of the mature fronds from the outside toward the center. Root number is decreased and root rotting is occurred followed by palm death within few months Red palm weevil Brown sap with a bad smell mostly on the lower part of the trunk of adult trees or small offshoots. Small furrows and holes on the lower part of the trunk which may be followed by tree decline. As there is no management to control RPW, symptoms are spread over all cultivation area particularly in the abandoned orchards Recommendations Planting local early cultivars, e.g., Kasho Wari, Gajjar Fruit bunch covering Solar dryers Avoid new plantations with polluted offshoots. Avoid waterlogging and excessive irrigation Stop intercropping with rice, wheat, banana, and alfalfa which need regular flood irrigation Avoid cultivation on water canals Regular monitoring of date palm trees to control early infestation by Phostoxin tablets Pesticide treatment of cut surfaces and wounded tissues after pruning and offshoot detachment Offshoot detachment Chopping, burning, and burying heavily infested trees (continued) 176 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. Table 5.3 (continued) Province Balochistan Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Problem Termites Description Small tunnels on different parts of the remaining part of fronds after pruning, fruit bunch stalks, and frond midribs. Soil canals on the base of the plants Date palm lesser moth Small fruit dropping after 1–2 months of pollination from 30 to 50 %. Black spots near to the fruit cap and red deteriorated fruit on ground Monsoon rains As aforementioned in Sindh Dubas bugs Dubas excrete heavy honeydew and dust sticks to it. Dripping of honeydew may damage the crops growing under the trees. High infestation causes 50 % fruit yield reduction Groundwater deficiency Irrigated date palm orchards watered by pumped water from the aquifers and nonirrigated date palm orchards that depend on shallow water conserved after monsoon rains resulted in yield fluctuations As aforementioned in Sindh Monsoon rains High humidity Brown scars on the fruit at khalal stage Recommendations Spray with a termite killer Removing and burning destroyed offshoots Soil plowing with light irrigation Palm maintenance and cleaning Bunch covering and burning fallen fruit of last season A couple of spray with appropriate pesticide before flowering and after fruit set with 15 days As aforementioned in Sindh Windbreaks help to reduce injury and cultural practices Using natural enemies Systemic insecticides at the appropriate time are useful in the high levels of infestation Using drip irrigation systems Padding the irrigation canals to reduce water leakage Flood irrigation system is prohibited As aforementioned in Sindh Balanced irrigation Khairpur and similar areas. It was observed that the date palms grown in soil covered with salty sewage and drainage water were dwarfed; the number of fronds dramatically decreased and fruiting ceased (Fig. 5.15d). River silt after floodwaters receded can be a good source of material for soil elevation. On the other hand, this process is necessary for the intercropped species and has been followed in northern Egypt as a method for reclamation of saline soils in coastal areas of the 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 177 Mediterranean Sea. Mango, apple, and vegetables have been successfully intercropped with date palm at Damietta Governorate in Egypt by annual or biannual soil elevation. Virtually all date palms seen in Khairpur were suffering from the Graphiola leaf spot disease, or false smut, caused by Graphiola phoenicis. This problem mainly appears because of intercropping which increases the relative humidity to above 50 %. Severe attacks of the fungi occur in October after the monsoon rains. Symptoms begin with yellow spores called sori (Fig. 5.15e). The fungi dry out leaflet tissue where it occurs and then all the leaflets become dried (Fig. 5.15f). Infections are transmitted from infected to uninfected tree by air and the touching fronds of very closely planted palms. Maintaining proper planting distance and a prohibition of intercropping are the first step to control such a problem. Other means are listed in Table 5.3. In Punjab and KPK districts, the presence of the clouds and monsoon rains during summer causes fruit blemishes on the fruit during khalal stage. Most of the harvested fruit of the prominent Hillawi cv. in Punjab showed brown blemishes (Fig. 5.15g). A date palm sap-sucking insect known as the dubas bug (Ommatissus lybicus), locally known as sherrgo, is spreading in Balochistan, particularly in Panjgur district in the center of the province, and affecting overall date production. The dubas bug was first detected in 1999 in Panjgur district, and it is one of the major reasons for the low date production in Balochistan. Chemical control using different pesticides has increased the problem by creating resistant strains. Both the nymphs and adults suck the sap from the fruit stalk and fronds and may cause about 50 % of economic losses. Biological control is one of the sustainable methods to curb the spread of this pest (Shah et al. 2012). In northern Balochistan, villagers in Gualishtop near Nok-Kundi claim that within the last decade a rodent resembling a large rat has become a threat to the date palm plantations of the area. Abul-Soad et al. (2009) conducted a study at these areas in 2009 and recorded that the rodent moves in tunnels 30–60 cm in diameter burrowed by them, extending to more than a hundred meters. The rodents dig their tunnels in sandy soil approximately 0.3 m below the surface and reach the pith of the date palm. The rodent damages the fronds at the base of the younger date palms (10–15 years) which leads to a fungal infection and consequently devastates the tree (Fig. 5.15h). In mature trees the rodent is said to eat the sweet and soft apical meristem, resulting in death of the tree. Rodent attacks on date palms have been recorded in Nok-Kundi, Mashkel, and Dalbandin causing complete destruction of both adult palms and small offshoots. This exotic pest mostly became a major threat due to some change in the equilibrium of natural forces, particularly because of a prolonged drought period of 4–5 years in this arid region of the province. The Vertebrate Pest Control Institute, Karachi Univ. Campus, has made a study covered the area of Nok-Kundi and Dalbandin. Their salient findings indicated that mole rat (Nesokia spp.) has a narrow feeding niche and in noncrop lands of Balochistan is largely herbivorous. Food habit studies showed that rodents throughout the season feed principally upon the date fruits, stem, grasses, and roots, but date palm pith was the main component of the diet. A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 178 Rodenticide bait and trapping were used to eliminate the rodents. This attempt to control the rodents was not successful hitherto. However, the rodenticide baiting used was unsafe for grazing ruminants and livestock. Recognizing the damage caused and the risk of the threat of spreading to Rajai, Wadian, and other areas, further studies are needed to understand the nature of the problem and to develop control techniques such as launching an augmentation program for its natural predator the barn owl. This is necessary in order to free date palm plantations in Balochistan from this menace (Abul-Soad et al. 2009). On an international scale, the only control measure for rodents is poison, composed of a mixture of zinc phosphate at 30–50 g, 1 kg of millet flour, and 3 % cooking oil. The paste is placed around the palms at the entry to the galleries. A chemical product Finale gave excellent results at the Eersbegin project in Namibia. It is a highly active anticoagulant bait at 0.025 g/kg as an active ingredient. The rodents die in 4–12 days. The chemical was used (July and August 1997) in both the Eersbegin and Naute date plantations in Namibia with a good success rate against Mus musculus (Zaid and de Wet 2002). Other problems are briefly discussed in Table 5.3. 5.2.9 Major Problems Facing Date Palm Cultivation In Punjab, awareness about cultivars, irrigation practices, fertilizer application, offshoot transplantation, and insect/pest of date palm are the major factors hindering better yield and ultimately the profit for growers. There is the need to train growers about irrigation and fertilizer application, disease and pest management, offshoot transplanting, and processing of dates (Ata et al. 2012). The major problems facing date palm cultivation, production, and protection in the four Pakistani provinces are discussed according to their potential in Table 5.3. A study was carried out in 2007 in northwestern Pakistan to investigate the causes of late adoption and slow dissemination of date palm cultivation and to examine the role of education. The study showed that growers with little or no formal education were late adopters of date palm cultivation. In order to increase date palm production, the growers’ educational level, both formal and agricultural, should be enhanced with specific focus on adoption of new agricultural practices reflecting the latest research (Khan et al. 2009). 5.3 5.3.1 Genetic Resources and Conservation Threats and Degradation of Date Palm in Balochistan Balochistan has dry hot weather during the date-growing season. Annual rainfall is below 100 mm, and the wind speed is mostly high and charged with dust. Date palm plantations are situated in areas where the groundwater is shallow (5 m), mainly 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 179 Fig. 5.16 Date palm plantations are threatened by sand dunes in the desert area of Hamun-eMashkel in Balochistan around the Hamun-e-Mashkel (a salt lake in the middle of the desert), and a belt along the Iranian border where the Tahlab river basin joins the Hamun-e-Mashkel. Date palm populations in this area may reach a half million trees. About 20 % of these trees are dispersed in scattered villages. Livelihood in the areas is principally dependent on date palm. Sand dunes, drought periods, poor management, and shortage of skilled labor are the current problems in such areas. Sand dunes can cover date palm plantations (Fig. 5.16). Many date palms have disappeared under mountainous sand dunes built up by steady winds during the date season. Growers utilize baat or sondh (Fig. 5.17), i.e., baskets made from date palm leaflets to protect the developing fruit from strong winds carrying sand particles. Every 1–3 fruit bunches were covered with a single baat. At harvest time, the practice is to cut the baat along with upper frond to which it is tied. Harvesting begins in July in the Mashkel area south of the Hamun-e-Mashkel, and the harvest time varies slightly from area to area due to climatic conditions. Harvest in areas located toward the north of the Hamun-e-Mashkel, such as Gualishtop, Rajai, and Wadian, begins around the end of the first week of August. In southern Balochistan at Kech and Panjgur, fruit harvest is usually initiated from the first week of July and extends to mid-September. The date palm is drought tolerant as compared to other fruit species and is adapted to water stress and low water availability found in the desert and oasis conditions. However, a prolonged period of drought in the southwest of Balochistan has led to a reduction in the rate of formation of new fronds and yield. The distribution of roots in the irrigated and nonirrigated date palm plantations varies; root numbers are higher for regularly irrigated date palms. For appropriate growth and development, however, extremes of water level, neither waterlogged conditions where the roots cannot breathe nor water levels deeper A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 180 a b Fig. 5.17 Date palm plantations in northern Balochistan. (a) Nonirrigated date palm trees, (b) covering bag, baat, made from date palm leaflets placed over the fruit bunches than 5–6 m, are undesirable. The trees extend their roots to adapt to a drop in the level of groundwater. Yield was measured of about 50 % of normal annual production at a groundwater depth 5–6 m. The impact of lowering the groundwater level depends mainly on the availability of supplementary water from rainfall. The date palm tree can conserve the water for months to prolong its life. It is difficult to measure the maximum depth to which roots can reach. However, during a drought period, the date palm trees near the dry waterway of the Tahlab and Washab rivers were able to extend horizontal roots up to 20 m in length to reach the waterway. Long periods of drought and deep groundwater levels, which measured 17 m in the irrigated date palm plantations of Yak Mach village, forced growers to rely on pumped water to establish new date palm plantings in the area. Wide variation in water quality was detected between the irrigated and nonirrigated areas. The EC of groundwater at Gualishtop area was 10,760 µS cm−1 compared to 4,140 µS cm−1 at the irrigated date palm plantations of Yak Mach village. Higher salt concentration in the irrigation water could be a contributing factor to the lower productivity at Gualishtop (on average of 10–30 kg palm−1 yr−1) as compared to 30–50 kg at Yak Mach (Abul-Soad et al. 2009). Similar figures were reported for other areas in the world. A drop of groundwater level to 20 m at the Moroccan oasis of Jorf caused drought impact on the date palms, even though the annual rainfall varied between 50 and 250 mm (El Baali et al. 2002), forcing the growers to initiate irrigation. Due to the poor management in such Pakistani areas, potentially useful cultivars of very small populations (10–15 trees) are at risk of degradation and extinction. Exceptional among the landrace cultivars is the Shandishkand which currently exists in Gualishtop village near Hamun-e-Mashkel Lake. The crispy dried fruit of this fabulous cultivar is in high demand by the local growers, and the challenge is to 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan a 181 b Fig. 5.18 Date Palm Laboratory of DPRI, SAL University, Khairpur; (a) culture room, (b) in vitro cultures of different cultivars using shoot tip and inflorescence explants propagate it. Tissue culture is the only solution to conserve such cultivars and other similar landraces that are well adapted to the local environment. Unfortunately, poor horticultural management when new plantations are established, along with stress brought on by pest attacks, particularly rodents and mites, has restricted new plantation expansion and reduced the productivity of these dry land areas. There are no genebanks for date palms in Pakistan. Nevertheless, in Khairpur, Faisalabad, Bahawalpur, and other date palm locations within the country, collection farms have been established to collect and conserve different local and prominent cultivars. 5.4 Plant Tissue Culture The development of tissue culture techniques for mass propagation of date palm plants has revolutionized the world date palm industry. In Pakistan, tissue culture of date palm began two decades ago. A few plants were produced through somatic embryogenesis and transplanted to open fields for evaluation, but the fruits were inferior, which discouraged growers (Hussain et al. 1995; Rashid and Quraishi 1994). A very few research laboratories are trying to develop a successful protocol for commercial propagation of date palm, but without notable results (Khan and Bibi 2012). However, on both commercial and research levels and without dedicated funding, the Biotechnology Laboratory of DPRI, SAL University, Khairpur, succeeded in producing, in 2010, a few thousand plantlets of six Pakistani and three foreign cultivars. The local cultivars were Dhakki, Gulistan, Dedhi, Kasho Wari, Gajjar, and Kurh, along with the foreign Barhee, Zaghloul, and Partamoda cvs. (Abul-Soad 2011b, 2012a; Abul-Soad and Mahdi 2010, 2012; Abul-Soad et al. 2007). The production of tissue-cultured palms took 4–6 years and involved three sequential phases: (a) Laboratory-based plant production (in vitro plants) for 2–3 years (Fig. 5.18). A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 182 Fig. 5.19 The ex vitro date palm plants 2 years of age in the greenhouse Fig. 5.20 In vivo date palm plants 1 year of age planted in open field of SAL Univ., Khairpur (b) Plants establishment in a greenhouse (ex vitro plants) for 1–2 years (Fig. 5.19). (c) A growing-on phase in a shaded nursery or net house before field cultivation for 1 year, then plants were transplanted to the open field in 2012 (Fig. 5.20). After the full cycle of tissue culture production period, plants were cultivated in the open field for evaluation and fruiting was expected within 1–2 years. There is demand for tissue-cultured plants by date growers in Pakistan, but the high price of cultivars from outside Pakistan is delaying their dissemination. The DPRI team used the knowledge gained by a visiting Egyptian scientist who arrived in 2006 to use inflorescence explants for date palm micropropagation to satisfy the local demand for Pakistani and elite world cultivars. 5.4.1 Micropropagation Using Inflorescence Explants Inflorescence-based micropropagation holds great potential for the multiplication of recalcitrant individual male and female date palms and cultivars of commercial interest with limited populations. A female palm from seed and bearing a superior crop is great repository for new cultivars. This can be accomplished in a short time with minimal efforts as compared to the traditional practice of using shoot tip 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 183 explants (Abul-Soad 2011b; Abul-Soad et al. 2006). Pilot production trials in DPRI revealed that 1–2 immature spathes were enough to produce thousands of the plants, while about 100 offshoots may be required for producing a similar number of plants using the traditional explant, the shoot tip (Abul-Soad and Mahdi 2010). Using inflorescence explants may be the dream of any laboratory in the world to micropropagate date palm. The achievement of DPRI could be a breakthrough in the date palm growing world. Details concerning the major research laboratories working on date palm micropropagation in Pakistan are (a) PRI, SAL University, Khairpur, Sindh; (b) the Biotechnology Laboratory in HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry, Karachi University, Sindh; and (c) Plant Biotechnology Program, National Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), Islamabad. 5.5 Cultivar Identification Morphological data along with the DNA-based techniques and sequencing of different gene fragments from the chloroplast genome were used as a means to reliably identify different date palm cultivars in Pakistan. 5.5.1 Morphological Characterization Commercially important cultivars from Bahawalpur and Jhang have been morphologically characterized. The traits studied were frond length, frond width, frond base width, pinnae number, spine number, midrib length, midrib length with spines, midrib length with pinnae, length of the top pinnae, fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length, fruit diameter, and seed weight. The data were subjected to principal component analysis which determined that frond length, midrib length, fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length, and seed weight together contributed to 34.1 % variability of the data set. Variability of 16.9 % was caused by spine number and spine area length, while the fruit weight and fruit volume together contributed to 15.8 % variation. Variation among different cultivars in terms of seed weight was limited (8 % in the data set). Ten traits including frond length, midrib length, spine area length, spine number, fruit weight, fruit volume, fruit length, and seed weight contributed more than other traits to the observed variability among cultivars (Nadia et al. 2013). Twenty-one cultivars were used to determine physical fruit characteristics. Results indicated that among all cultivars, Dhakki recorded the maximum fruit weight (13.89 g fruit−1), flesh weight (12.89 g fruit−1), fruit length (4.56 cm fruit−1), and volume (11.94 cm fruit−1). Edible/nonedible ratio of different cultivars ranged from 1.94 for Desi simple cv. to 14.50 for Aseel cv. (Nadeem et al. 2011b). The anatomical features of root, frond, and rachis of ten Pakistani cultivars were described. Date palm has some structural variation of these tissues to cope with an A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 184 2,072 bp 1,500 bp 600 bp 100 bp Fig. 5.21 Polymorphism level among 25 major Pakistani date palm cultivars with GLG-16 RAPD marker adverse environment. The presence of stomata on one or both sides of the frond and variation in the stomata complex were highly dependent on the environment. Mesophyll in the frond was highly compact with large cells closely associated with vascular bundles in the laminar portion. The roots among cultivars varied in epidermal size, inner and outer cortex thickness, presence of sclerenchyma layers and sclerenchyma bundle, thickness of endodermis and pericycle, number of metaxylem vessels, and phloem area in the vascular region. Cultivars from saline soil and low relative humidity conditions possessed a thick sclerenchyma region, while cultivars growing under high relative humidity developed a larger area of cortex tissue. The date palm rachis has axial vascular bundles which were constant in size and the center of the rachis. Among these ten cultivars, Chuwara, Zahidi, and Makran showed discrete morphological characteristics and high structural variation (Ahmad et al. 2013). 5.5.2 Molecular Characterization Genetic diversity and the phylogenetic relationships among 25 Pakistani date palm cultivars were analyzed. The study was carried out by using six universal random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) primers. The RAPD primers showed polymorphism among all date palm cultivars (Fig. 5.21). Based on the pairwise comparison of amplification products, the genetic relationship was estimated. All date palm cultivars showed variation at the DNA level. The average of genetic diversity among the date palm cultivars ranged from 0.64 to 0.95. A dendrogram was constructed using NTSYSpc program. On the basis of this analysis, the populations were clustered into two main clusters and subclusters (Mirbahar et al. 2014). For example, the RAPD primer GLG-16 produced maximum 8 DNA bands with Aseel cv., and on the other hand no band was generated by Seedless and Kasho Wari cvs. The most common and dominant number of 05 bands was observed with cvs. Asul Khurmo, Asul Kurh, Karbaline, Khar, Kupro, Noori, Otakin, Dhakki, Hillawi, Begum Jangi, Muzawati, and Basra. On the average 4 bands were generated by this primer with all 25 cultivars. Shakkar and Rabai cvs. produced 07 DNA bands and Sher Shahi Dokka, 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 185 MW -ve 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 1,000 bp 500 bp 100 bp Fig. 5.22 Polymorphism level with ISSR marker HB-15 among the major 25 Pakistani date palm cultivars. MW Molecular weight, 1 Aseel, 2 Asul Khurmo, 3 Asul Kurh, 4 Dedhi, 5 Gajjar, 6 Karbaline, 7 Kasho Wari, 8 Khar, 9 Kupro, 10 Nar Aseel, 11 Noori, 12 Otakin, 13 Dhakki, 14 Gulistan, 15 Hillawi, 16 Seedless, 17 Sher Shahi Dokka, 18 Begum Jangi, 19 Muzawati, 20 Shakkri, 21 Ab-e-Dandan, 22 Shakkar, 23 Husaini, 24 Basra, 25 Rabai Ab-e-Dandan, and Husaini produced 06 bands, respectively, with GLG-16 RAPD primer. This RAPD marker produced total 121 bands and an average number of 4.84 DNA bands produced with the 25 cultivars. GLG-16 marker produced 08 polymorphic bands and without monomorphic. This marker showed 100 % polymorphism with 20 cultivars (Fig. 5.21). The study was carried out using seven anchored inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. The ISSR primers showed high polymorphism (84 %) among the 25 cultivars. The amplicon obtained was successfully used to differentiate the cultivars. The 25 cultivars showed variations at the DNA level. NTSYSpc software was used to check similarity matrices and phylogenetic relationship among the cultivars. The pairwise similarity among the cultivars ranged from 0.608 to 0.980. Therefore, ISSR markers have divided the 25 cultivars into two main clusters and subclusters (Mirbahar et al. 2013). For example, the primer HB-15 generated maximum 06 bands with DNA templates of Aseel, Asul Kurh, Dedhi, Gajjar, Karbaline, Khar, Nar Aseel, Hillawi, Seedless, Sher Shahi Dokka, Muzawati, Shakkar, Husaini and Basra and minimum 04 DNA bands with DNA templates of Kupro, Noori, Otakin, Dhakki, Shakkri, and Rabai cvs. Five cultivars, Asul Khurmo, Kasho Wari, Gulistan, Begum Jangi, and Ab-e-Dandan, produced 05 bands with this primer. The primer HB-15 produced total 133 DNA bands with all 25 cultivars. The average number of 5.32 bands was generated by each cultivar with HB-15 primer. This primer produced 3 monomorphic bands and 3 polymorphic bands which showed 50 % monomorphism and 50 % polymorphism, respectively. The bands were of 400–1,000 bp (Fig. 5.22). The complete date palm chloroplast genome (cpDNA) from Aseel cv. was sequenced using a combination of Sanger-based and next-generation sequencing technologies. The size of the genome was 158,458 bp with a pair of inverted repeat (IR) regions of 27,276 bp that were separated by a large single-copy (LSC) region of 86,195 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 17,711 bp. Genome annotation demonstrated a total of 138 genes, of which 89 were protein coding, 39 were tRNA, and eight were rRNA genes (Khan et al. 2012). 186 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. Similarly, a sequence from the Saudi Arabian date palm cultivar Khalas has been made (Yang et al. 2010). Comparison of cpDNA sequences of cvs. Aseel and Khalas showed following intervarietal variations in the LSC region. These were the two SNPs in intergenic spacers and one SNP in the rpoc1 gene and polymorphism in two mononucleotide simple sequences repeats (SSR). Also, a 4-bp indel in the accDpsaI intergenic spacer was detected between the two cultivars. The SSC region has a polymorphic site in the mononucleotide SSR located at position 120,710. Aseel cv. cpDNA sequence with partial Phoenix dactylifera cpDNA sequence entries deposited in Genbank was also compared and identified a number of potentially useful polymorphisms in this species. Analysis of date palm cpDNA sequences revealed a close relationship with the common bulrush, Typha latifolia. Occurrence of small numbers of forward and inverted repeats in date palm cpDNA indicates conserved genome arrangement (Khan et al. 2012). Eleven cultivars were selected for molecular-based varietal identification, and 16SrRNA, ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase large subunit (RBLC) gene, and maturase K (MATK) gene from date palm chloroplast were sequenced. The studied cultivars showed highly similar/identical sequences for these genes which are also identical to already sequenced genome of date palm (Nadia et al. 2013). 5.5.3 Research Activities of the Date Palm Research Institute Date palm is of economic importance in Pakistan. Nevertheless, there are only a few small research stations specialized in date palm belonging to the agriculture departments in Sindh and Balochistan provinces. The Date Palm Research Institute (DPRI) was established in 2006 at Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur. Its main purpose is to conduct research on various aspects of date palm. Hence, the Institute has engaged in various research activities since its establishment and has achieved remarkable recognition within country in a short period spell of time. Adel A. AbulSoad is a date palm expert from Egypt and one of the lead persons in this Institute who has worked as a foreign professor/consultant since 2006. A team of 12 researchers is engaged in research on various aspects of date palm, in addition to other crop species such as mango, banana, and orchids, some for their graduate degrees. DPRI has four departments: Biotechnology and Tissue Culture, Crop Production and Plant Protection, Postharvest and Processing, and Germplasm Collection Farm/ Nursery. The micropropagation of elite cultivars of Pakistan and abroad is a mandate of the Institute. Efforts are being made to modify the cultivar structure of dates in the country to save the crop from the monsoon rains which are synchronized with the ripening of crop. The Institute is conducting research to enhance the quantity and quality of dates and addressing current disease and pest problems to generate more revenue and alleviate poverty. Despite Pakistan being one of the top date-producing countries in the world, century-old pre- and postharvest techniques and a dearth of advanced processing units, standardized packaging and poor marketing tools are 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 187 major problems being dealt with by the Institute (Abul-Soad 2011a, 2013b). Continuous efforts have been made to improve the existing date-drying facilities at Khairpur and to work for their optimization. The Institute is engaged in conducting studies, training courses, seminars, and workshops for growers on different aspects of date palm. The annual Dates Festival and Seminar at Khairpur is a mandate of DPRI. A number of local and international NGOs are collaborating with DPRI, such as the Pakistan Agriculture Cold Chain Development (PACCD); WINROCK International, USA; DuPont Company; Pakistan Horticulture Development & Export Company (PHDEC); and USAID’s Agribusiness Fund and Firms project (Abul-Soad 2013a). DPRI was assigned to conduct few projects on different aspects of date palm, such as a case study on the use of Tyvek bags to cover fruit bunches (Abul-Soad et al. 2010). Also, a study was carried out to survey the elite cultivars found in the different provinces of Pakistan (Markhand et al. 2010). Nevertheless there are only a few dispersed date palm stations and projects in Pakistan. DPRI is recognized as a Center of Excellence for date palm in Pakistan. 5.6 5.6.1 Cultivar Description Date Palm Distribution in Pakistan Date palm cultivars are distributed in all over Pakistan; however, about 90 % are found in the Kech, Panjgur, Dera Ismail Khan, and Khairpur districts (Table 5.1). The predominant Pakistani cultivars are Aseel in Khairpur and Sukkur districts and Dhakki in Dera Ismail Khan which is now being dispersed to other parts of Punjab and Sindh provinces. Begum Jangi is the common cultivar in Balochistan province especially in Kech district, and Rabai and Muzawati are found in the desert areas of Hamun-e-Mashkel salt lake and Panjgur (Fig. 5.23). More than 300 cultivars and landraces of dates have been indentified in Khairpur, which is the biodiversity center of dates. Elite provincial date cultivars of Sindh include: Aseel, Karbaline, Fasli, Dedhi, Kupro, Gajjar, Kasho Wari, Began, Mithri, Bhedir, Khar, Autaqin, and Asul Khurmo (Mahar 2007). Only Aseel and Karbaline are of sufficiently high quality to be promoted. In another study, fruits of 85 cultivars of Pakistani dates were collected through the harvest season. An appropriate format was designed to record the scientific and commonly used characteristics. These characters included fruit color at khalal stage; shape, size (length and diameter), color, and height of perianth; fruit group (soft, semidry, dry); edible stage; and the micropyle position and split (wide, narrow, deep). Furthermore, photographs of the entire fruit, longitudinal and transverse sections and dorsal and ventral sides of the seed, were taken. The objective is to evaluate the quality of different Pakistani dates. For example, Aseel cv. is elliptical in shape like most of the Pakistani dates (Fig. 5.24). Measured production of fruit production per tree is 152 kg (Markhand et al. 2008). However, the actual productivity figure is 80–90 kg tree−1 under current cultivation practices. 188 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. Fig. 5.23 Date palm distribution in the four provinces of Pakistan A few of the evaluated cultivars show good properties. The majority of Pakistani dates fall in the semidry group. Most of the cultivars, if not all, are sensitive to monsoon rains, which occur during with ripening/harvest season (Markhand et al. 2010). Very early cultivars could be harvested before monsoon rainfall, i.e., the end of July/ early August, to avoid rain damage. The earlier cultivars are Kasho Wari and Gajjar in Khairpur and Hillawi in Jhang, Punjab province and Rabai in Balochistan (Fig. 5.24). In the Punjab, date palm cultivation is concentrated at Dera Ghazi Khan, Muzaffar Garh, Jhang, and Bahawalpur districts. Date palm cultivation is limited at Jhang; Halawy or Hillawi is the common cultivar of the area (Fig. 5.24). There is a seedless cultivar named Dora Kaheri, also called Dora Sanawan, cultivated in Sanawan village near Kot Adu, Punjab. There are few thousand trees scattered at the area. The general practice is that growers do not carry out pollination. Hence, fruits ripen in September. It is desirable to get late fruit after the monsoon rains in July–August. Sometimes, the first early whorl of spathes is pollinated because of the availability of pollen. The khalal red fruit is harvested and mixed with vinegar and let stand overnight to develop into a ripe soft date. These dates are dark brown in color and seedless (unpollinated fruit). This cultivar is famously known in the area as being seedless. If it is pollinated it will ripen in late July and have seeds. It is consumed as a fresh date prepared with vinegar or sun dried on mats. 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 189 Aseel at khalal stage Aseel at tamar stage Gajjar Hillawi Muzawati Shandishkand Rabai Begum Jangi Fig. 5.24 Important Pakistani date palm cultivars 190 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, date palm is cultivated at Dera Ismail Khan district particularly in the Paniala, Paharpur, Chawdwan, and Dhakki villages. The prominent cultivars grown are Dhakki, Gulistan, Shakkri, Zaidi, Hillawi, Basra, Azadi, and Khudarawi. Dhakki dates are famous among all other cultivars, and there is rapidly growing demand for its offshoots. Total production is 11,000 mt dates, 75 % of the total production of dates in the area from Dhakki cv., going mainly for chohara preparation. Cured date production ranges from 800 to 1,000 mt yr−1 (Marwat et al. 2012). Dhakki fruit has been physically and chemically characterized (Imranullah and Abdul Qayum 2013). Findings revealed that the average fruit length at khalal stage was 5 cm, fruit diameter 3.2 cm, fruit weight 26.5 g/fruit, and pulp weight 25.1 g/ fruit. Astringency in terms of citric acid reaches a maximum at rutab stage, 1.5 %. The total yield per tree was 96 kg. However, common observation for the production in Dhakki village at Dera Ismail Khan indicated that harvested fresh fruit at khalal stage ranged from 50 to 60 kg tree−1 of large-sized fruit. In Balochistan, the famous cultivars are Begum Jangi, Muzafati or Muzawati, Kehraba, and Rabai, together accounting for more than 90 % of the date palm population, followed by the 10 % representing minor cultivars including Carba, Drage Trownge, Shandishkand, and Ringno (Fig. 5.24). The most outstanding is cv. Shandishkand with its crisp and tasty fruit; however, the number of palms is very small, and they produce no offshoots. It is landrace found nowhere else (Fig. 5.24). In the Kech district of Balochistan, minor cultivars make up about 10 % of the total date palms, including Roghni, Hussaini, Goknah, Pashbugh, and Hallini or Haleene. The renowned cultivar in Panjgur district is Kehraba followed by a few other cultivars such as Muzawati, Rabai, Jawan, and Sour. Unfortunately, there are no reliable statistics about the precise number of date palm cultivars in Pakistan. The average fruit production of a palm of Begum Jangi cv. is about 100 kg tree−1 at khalal stage giving about 1–1.5 mond (40–60 kg) after drying. Mond is the local weight measure used in the date market. The weight of one bunch of, for example, Rabai cv. ranges from 3 to 6 kg. The average annual production of the preferred cultivars is 50–70 kg tree−1. The Makran division (including Kech and Panjgur districts) produces about 90 % of all Balochistan dates. Only a few thousand tons are marketed. Urgent and rapidly expanding demand exists for elite cultivars. It is unknown if the demand can be met through offshoot micropropagation of the evaluated and selected cultivars or by importing offshoots (Markhand et al. 2010). 5.6.2 Nutritional Aspects of Pakistani Cultivars Twenty-one Pakistani date palm cultivars were subjected to antinutritional factor determination (phytate, oxalate, and tannins) at tamar stage based on dry fruit weight. Tannin content range was 0.22–0.87 % of dry fruit weight. The highest mean value was recorded in Desi cv. (0.87 %), and the lowest tannin content was recorded in Aseel cv. (0.22 %), Dhakki cv. (0.25 %), and Hillawi cv. (0.28 %). 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 191 Maximum phytate content was found in Dora Desi cv. (0.77 %), and minimum value was detected in Dora cv. (0.30 %). Oxalate content ranged from 3.63 to 6.49 % among date cultivars. Maximum mean value for oxalate content was found in Simple basray cv. (6.49 %) and the lowest value found in Dora cv. (3.63 %). The study concluded that the cultivars studied are suitable for consumption and processing due to their low level of antinutrients (Nadeem et al. 2011a). Some 21 cultivars were used to determine the textural profile and total phenolic content. Maximum water activity was found in Desi Basray cv. (0.482) and minimum in Karbaline (0.323). The maximum hardness from a textural profile analysis was recorded in Dora cv. (59.64 g), and the maximum value of fruit color was observed in Desi red small cv. (149.10 CTn). Phenolic content ranged from 296.67 to 140.67 mg (GAE) 100 g−1 of fresh fruit weight. The study revealed that fruit of Dhakki, Aseel, and Hillawi cvs. might be preferred for table purpose because of their good physical characteristics such as large size, high fruit and flesh weight, edible/nonedible ratio, firm texture, and nutritional properties. Other date cultivars like Karbaline, Zaidi, and Dora are suitable for processing due to low moisture content and higher sugar content (Nadeem et al. 2011b). 5.7 5.7.1 Date Production and Marketing Fruit Thinning The impact of manual fruit thinning on the quantitative and qualitative characteristics of Aseel cv. has been reported. Sixteen different combinations of possible manual thinning methods were performed. Number of bunches, number of spikes, and spike lengths were reduced manually after 6 weeks of pollination. The average fruit yield was 152 kg tree−1 when the number of bunches was reduced to 19 bunches with removal of the central forth spikes. The average fruit weight increased from 10.9 g fruit−1 in control treatment (no spikes removed) to 13.1 g fruit−1. Also, fruit thinning significantly increased fruit diameter and flesh weight but did not affect total sugar, reducing and nonreducing, or the pH of fruits (Markhand et al. 2008). 5.7.2 Solar Dryer Technology Solar dehydration is an ancient process for food preservation. The purpose of dehydrating fully mature date fruit is to reduce the water content below 24 % of fresh weight. Date fruits naturally dry on the tree reducing water content to 20 % of the fresh weight. The shelf life of such fruit can reach up to a year. Fruit of the soft and semidry types require dehydration if harvested at khalal stage due to particular reasons during the ripening period. These reasons could be monsoon rains coincident with ripening such as in Jordan, Palestine, Morocco, Tunisia, USA, and Pakistan. A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 192 a b Fig. 5.25 The solar dryer (solar tunnel) unit. (a) The transparent plastic tunnel, (b) thirty stands inside the tunnel used for drying the unripe date fruit Early harvesting because of the higher relative humidity during ripening can cause fruit drop before full ripening in Arabian Gulf countries or delay ripening in Pakistan. Also, early harvesting could occur because of marketing demand or late season pest attack on fruit bunches. In Pakistan, monsoon rains mostly coincide with the date ripening months of June to August. Monsoon rains falling continuously for a couple of hours can damage the date fruit bunches at khalal stage from fungi and mold growth and skin cracks (Abul-Soad 2010). Many trial experiments have been done by the local growers using electric dehydrators and units made from the wood and baked bricks, to accelerate fruit ripening after harvesting of khalal fruit (Abul-Soad 2013b). Finally in 2012, the trails were concluded with successful trials using a plastic tunnel for drying unripe date fruit (Abul-Soad 2013a). Also, the tunnels can be used during the off-season for drying other fruits, vegetables, and medicinal plants. The solar dryer or solar tunnel is a unit comprised of a metal frame covered with transparent plastic sheeting within which unripe date fruit continues ripening to reach tamar stage within a period of 3 days (Fig. 5.25). By comparison, spreading unripe fruits on mats for sun curing takes 7 days, and fruits are exposed to changeable climatic conditions and dust. The solar dryer is provided with doors at each end to allow room for the drying stands and the access of laborers. On one end, two windows are covered with a metal mesh, and on the other end two exhaust fans draw the moisture out of the tunnel. Fans in the current model in Pakistan are controlled manually and provided with an external source of electricity. It could be controlled automatically by a thermostat to keep the temperature inside the tunnel in the targeted range of 60–65 °C. At times, the temperature reaches 70 °C because of electricity fluctuations, which is a major problem in Pakistan. Increasing the temperature to 70 °C causes an adverse impact on fruit drying. It is worth mentioning that in the older models of solar dryers at Khairpur, a solar cell was fixed beside the tunnel to provide electricity to run the fans, but it is rather expensive for the growers. Adoption of solar cells for power 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 193 has been hindered by the attitude of the growers that solar cells should be made available free or at a subsidized cost. The range of the temperature inside the tunnel was measured from 50–65 °C from 12 a.m. to near sunset when the temperature outside the tunnel was 35–40 °C. Relative humidity measured inside the tunnel was 40–50 %, while outside the tunnel in the open air, it was 60–65 % on 10–12/08/2012 (Abul-Soad 2013b). The capacity of a single dryer is 2.5 mt approximately, loaded on 30 stands arranged in 3 rows. Each stand consists of 7 shelves bearing about 84 kg of fresh fruit. Each shelf is composed of a couple of perforated stainless steel trays. The minimum production of a single solar dryer, by contrast, under the usage at Khairpur by the growers, revealed that the output of dried fruit was about 1 mt after 2.5–3 days (Abul-Soad 2013b). The stepwise protocol of using the solar dryer can be summarized as follows: (a) Appropriate fruit stage: date fruit is preferably harvested at early rutab stage, as compared to khalal, to avoid failure of fruit ripening. Early harvested fruit at khalal stage could take more time to dry inside the solar dryer and may fail to reach the desired fruit quality. The fruit at early rutab stage is changing to a yellow color (Aseel, Dhakki, and Begum Jangi cvs.) or red (Muzawati cv.) with the fruit tip turning brown. (b) Harvesting: fruit skin of Aseel cv. is very delicate at rutab stage. Fruit must be handled carefully during harvest to avoid dropping early-ripened fruit on the ground and crushing them. The ground under the date palm is covered with a plastic sheet to collect the harvested fruit bunch and any individual fruit which falls during the harvest. This practice has recently been adopted by progressive growers; however, the conventional harvesting practice is still commonly being used (see Sect. 5.2.3). (c) Containers: harvested fruit should be placed in plastic crates for transfer to the solar dryer by small hand carts or by trucks if the fields are distant. (d) Sorting: once date fruit reach the location of the solar dryer, they should be sorted to discard any crushed, deteriorated, mashed, infected, ruptured, and immature fruit types before the drying process. Sorting includes separating the fruit into three categories according to size: small, medium, and jumbo. It is worth mentioning that jumbo fruits are commanding high prices in the market and have export potential. There is need to establish quality standards for the commercial Pakistani date cultivars. (e) Fruit detachment: at Pir or Bethak, manual fruit detachment from the fruit stalks is the conventional practice before drying in the solar dryer or sun curing on mats (Fig 5.3). (f) Washing: loose fruit cannot be washed before drying in solar dryers under current practices. However, fruit loaded on the perforated metal trays can be washed under running tap water for 1–2 min and then placed directly into the solar dryer at the highest shelf in the stand. Fruit is not to be loaded on the lower shelves or left for some time after washing. This is because of the high sugar content of the date fruit which encourages fermentation and deterioration of the fruit. 194 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. Fig. 5.26 The quality of dried date fruit of Dhakki cv. in the upper trays loaded with 3 fruit layers after 3 days inside the solar dryer at Therhi, Khairpur (g) Number of fruit layers on the tray: fruit loaded on the upper shelf is exposed to higher temperature, which expands the fruit skin, than those on the lower shelves. Increasing the number of fruit layers from 1 to 3 layers in the trays of the upper shelf lessens the impact of high temperature and reduces the number of swollen fruit (Fig. 5.26). Swollen fruit exhibit a separation of skin from the underlying flesh which reduces quality. It appears that the moisture produced by three fruit layers adds moisture to the ambient air thereby reducing the negative impact of heat on the date fruit. Also, a few swollen fruits are observed in the lower shelves which are loaded with a single fruit layer. Loading lower shelves with more than one layer increases the number of rotten fruit due to moisture accumulation. (h) Packaging and storage: fruit should not reach full dryness; moisture content should be at about 24 %. Fruit is expected to lose moisture during subsequent steps from dryer through cold storage to the retail market. Dried fruits are loaded into plastic crates and kept for 12–24 h under shade in a protected place or room temperature and then transferred to the market or cold storage. It is important to protect mature dates from any new infestations in the late season and from storage pests after drying. Heat during curing or drying can be considered a sterilization treatment. In a study on cvs. Khalas, Rizez, and Shiashy in Saudi Arabia, to evaluate the effect of solar radiation as a postharvest control treatment against insect pests for mature date fruit, direct sunlight for 2 days was found to be an excellent substitute for chemical fumigation, the use of which creates safety 195 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan Fruit production Harvest • In open field • Khalal fruit by the grower mostly by a contractor Curing/dry -ing or 'Chohara' • On mats/solar dryer or boiled fruit Local market Processing • Export of • For cured and chohara/purc- dried date hases by fruit only Export • or storage till export Fig. 5.27 Date fruit value chain in Pakistan concerns, to maintain quality characteristics for human consumption. The sunlight treatment significantly increased total phenolics level to more than 175 % and antiradical activity in all cultivars (Saleh 2012). 5.7.3 Date Market in Pakistan 5.7.3.1 Pakistani Market Structure In Pakistan, at least 80–90 % of the harvested fruit goes to chohara preparation, and the remaining amount is cured for direct consumption as dates; no specialized date fruit warehouses exist. The cured khalal and rutab fruit are packed in wooden boxes or handmade baskets to go directly to cold storage or local wholesale markets. Cold storage facility used for vegetables and other fruits are used to store dates as well. Recently, three cold storage facilities have been built with a subsidy and given to three processing factories in Khairpur, through financial assistance from USAID Pakistan to support development in the date sector. Once cured dates reach local markets, agents of the processing plants will be competing through auctions to buy the good quality cured dates. Procured dates from the wholesale market are stored under ambient conditions at processing plants in godam. The processing plants will start their work to prepare the dates for the export outside Pakistan. The fruit for processing is mostly from Aseel, Begum Jangi, Dhakki, Muzawati, and Rabai cvs. and also a mixture of minor cultivars commonly called fruit mix. Imported dates of exotic cultivars are mostly offered for domestic consumption as fresh dates, especially during Ramadan, and to be used also in the processing plants to cover the shortage of local dates. The value chain of dates in Pakistan is illustrated as shown in Fig. 5.27. The second type of marketed date fruit, chohara, is mostly collected in fiber sacks after sun curing, then transported to the local market at Khairpur or Sukkur for auction by brokers and exported, mainly to India. The annual export of chohara typically exceeds 100,000 mt annum−1 and accounts for why Pakistan is always among the top three world exporters of dates. Nevertheless, the amount and export value of Pakistani dates is relatively very low. The usual measurement unit for dates in Pakistan is 40 kg (mond) which is approximately equal in value to PKR 1,500–7,000 (USD 15–70). Production of a single tree of Aseel cv., for example, is 100–120 kg of fresh fruit but can yield 196 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 40–50 kg of chohara (Abul-Soad 2011a, 2012b). This is the local market price, and the date grower receives less because the contractors are mostly carrying out the harvest and bearing transportation costs to the local market. There is a smaller wholesale market for dates in Karachi as compared to Khairpur and Sukkur. Most Balochistan dates and imported dates from Iran are received in the Karachi market, mostly packed in containers. The price of Aseel cv. reaches PKR 120 kg−1 at the maximum in Sukkur Market in December. Only sweaty dates of soft cultivars or semidry with a low amount of tannin at khalal stage are suitable for consumption such as Dedhi and Mithri cvs. at Khairpur, Gulistan cv. at KPK, and Hillawi cv. at Punjab. Prices of early season dates are always higher than the mid-season cultivars. In general, when dates reach khalal stage, they are regarded as ready for trading as fresh fruit. Dates in khalal stage are the first in the harvesting season and therefore have a ready market. Transportation by refrigerated trucks delays early harvested rutab of Begum Jangi sales from Balochistan and distant areas to reach retail markets in Karachi or wholesale markets. An economic zone is under construction by the Pakistan government on the main national road at Khairpur to replace the current wholesale market. It will be equipped with digital mega balances, a cold storage facility, and additional features. This project is expected to facilitate and accurately track the date market. 5.7.3.2 Current Pakistan Date Imports and Exports Date fruit trading is an expanding business both locally and globally. Pakistan was the sixth largest date-producing country of the world in 2011. Export quantity data shows that Pakistan’s date exports are very small compared to production. There is a significant gap between date production and export figures. Pakistan on average exports 20 % of production, and 80 % of the crop is either consumed locally or wasted. Pakistan is the second most important world exporter, following UAE, and in 2011 recorded 113,358 mt were shipped to 26 different destinations all over the world (FAOSTAT 2013). This suggests outlets for Pakistani dates in the international markets. India in 2011 was the largest importer from Pakistan with an 86 % share and Afghanistan with 6 % (FAOSTAT 2013), these representing mainly chohara dates. The USA, UK, and Germany are the major countries importing processed dried dates with 5, 2, and 1 % share, respectively (Fig. 5.28). It is necessary to strengthen Pakistan’s position in the existing markets, especially USA, UK, and Germany, through the support of the entire chain value of dates coupled with strong market promotion and also to identify new potential markets such as Denmark, Japan, and Australia which imported about 650 mt each in 2011 (FAOSTAT 2013). Also, there is a need to export Pakistani dates to nondate-producing countries near Pakistan, such as Indonesia and Malaysia which are among the top ten dateimporting countries of the world. Nevertheless, Pakistan thus far has failed to export any dates to those countries. There is growing demand in such Muslim countries for dates especially in the holy month of Ramadan. 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan Fig. 5.28 Major countries of exported date fruit of 113,358 mt into Pakistan in 2010 197 United States of America Afghanistan 5% 6% United Kingdom 2% Germany 1% Export quantity India 86 % Fig. 5.29 Major countries of imported date fruit of 13,205 mt into Pakistan in 2010 Iran 9% United States of Unspecified America 1% 9% Saudi Arabia 44 % Iraq 13 % Qatar 24 % Import quantity The export value of Pakistani dates is very low. Pakistan is not among the top 20 countries in terms of value of exports, although it is the second largest exporter of the world in terms of the export quantity, with 121,681 mt in 2010, which decreased to 113,358 mt in 2011 (FAOSTAT 2013). This production fluctuation could be because of losses due to monsoon rains. Date exports can be increased through improved agricultural practices and postharvest management. A rough estimate of the export of processed dates is about 11,000–13,000 mt yr−1. Therefore, processing plants mostly need high-quality imported dates fit for processing (Abul-Soad 2011a, 2012b). Keeping in mind that the shortage of dates occurs because a large quantity of stock is lost to spoilage because of limited and far-flung processing facilities, substantial revenues could be achieved through proper fumigation and storing. Also, the yearly demand for dates is about 10,000 mt, but in Ramadan it jumps to 40,000 mt in Karachi alone (SMEDA 2009). To fulfill these requirements, Pakistan imported 13,205 mt in 2010 (FAOSTAT 2013). The major sources are Saudi Arabia with 44 %, Qatar 24 %, Iraq 13 %, and Iran with 9 % shares of the total imported dates (Fig. 5.29). A.A. Abul-Soad et al. 198 A promotion plan for various date markets should be the mandate of the key associations, especially the Pakistan Horticulture Development Export Company (PHDEC). Export limitations and challenges are as below (PHDEC 2008): (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) Date procurement from wholesale market Lack of hygienic processed and value-added products Lack of market promotion outside Pakistan Limited attempts for market expansion – access to new potential markets Transportation by nonrefrigerated modes Lack of R&D support Moreover, the situation in Dera Ismail Khan is about to worsen regarding the lack of information about customers, marketing, harvesting, processing, packaging, and infrastructure to produce good quality fresh dates. If production and processing constraints are properly handled, this may have a significant positive socioeconomic impact on local inhabitants (Marwat et al. 2012). 5.8 5.8.1 Processing and Novel Products Date Processing Dates are processed to deliver products of uniform size, which are healthy and neat in appearance. Processing in Pakistan includes storage, fumigation, sorting, washing, drying, grading, and packaging. In common practice, once cured dates arrive at date factories in Khairpur from the wholesale market (Fig. 5.30), fruits are stored for few weeks or months under ambient temperature. Store rooms, godam, are provided with fans and windows covered with wire net for ventilation purpose. Stored dates under such conditions are exposed to pest infestation whether existing in the fruit or from a new infestation. Thus fumigation is carried out to kill the different pests of all ages inside the fruit and make them fit for human consumption. Fumigation consists of piles of dates covered with polythene plastic sheets and Fig. 5.30 Date market of cured dates packed in wooden boxes and jute sacks, chohara at Khairpur 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 199 exposed to a noxious gas within the sheets for 72 h. Tablets of hydrogen phosphide, trade name Phostoxin, have been widely used by technical personnel. After fumigation, rooms are carefully ventilated and the powder residue of the tablets removed. The process of dumping/fumigation keeps on going on the one hand, while on the other hand the fumigated dates are then passed to the another section for initial sorting or storage. An initial sorting is performed to discard the rotten fruit. For individual sale orders, date fruits are weighted and sent to villagers’ houses on small donkey carts for pitting and decapping, washing, and drying in the sun. Sometimes processing is extended to include chopping as well. Fruits returned to the factory are subjected to a manual sorting and grading process by young girls seated on wooden tables (Fig. 5.31). According to current situation, dates are classified into A, B, C, and industrial grades according to size and blemishes they have. The sorting process could be done before sending the dates to the households; however, grading is usually carried out before packaging and sometimes according to the specific requirements of the buyer. Dates are graded usually by size, shape, color, and skin. Fruit properties and taste vary among the different cultivars. A survey in the leading processing plants in Khairpur was performed to collect fruit samples and set quality standards for the local commercial cultivars. The preliminary results of this study, done by DPRI members for Aseel cv., indicated that the category of jumbo fruit, i.e., grade A, consisted of 55–60 fruit 500 g−1 and grade B contained 61–74 fruit 500−1, while grade C composed of 75–115 fruit 500 g−1 package according to the general concept of fruit quality in Pakistan date factories. The lowest-quality dates (grade C) are of sufficient quality to be consumed as fresh whole table fruit; however, the inferior fruits were classified as industrial grade in this study (Zangejo et al. 2013). Most date factories are processing certain Pakistani cultivars such as Aseel, Begum Jangi Dhakki, Rabai, and Muzawati or imported cultivars from Iran and Iraq such as Zahdi, Sayer, and Rabai. Before the sealing of packaged date fruit, cartons are exposed to a metal detector. Nevertheless, tiny metal particles are a big challenge for export. It needs x-ray detection which somewhat could be unable to detect the very tiny metals within the Fig. 5.31 Sorting the Rabai cv. dates into three categories according to size and freedom from blemishes 200 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. fruit. The processed dates are packed by a wrapping machine with polythene plastic bags which preserve the fruit moisture. The boxes can be of different design and weight (0.5, 1, 2, and 10 kg) based on requirements of the purchaser (Fig. 5.31). Packaged dates are stored in cold storage at 0–5 °C for about 10 months without change in color or freshness. Stored dates in the cold storage at 5–18 °C resulted in color and freshness change of 10 % approximately which reduces the quality. There are about 10–12 date-processing plants in the date city of Khairpur. The practices used for processing are noticeably varied and need to be standardized. This represents one of the challenges facing the industry to increase the value of Pakistani dates and compete in the international market. 5.8.2 Limitations and Challenges Facing Processing (a) Product development: the key problem in Pakistani date processing is the unhygienic manner of harvesting and postharvest handling of the fruit. The presence of dates contaminated with mud, sometimes found on packed Pakistani dates, is due to the poor handling of fruit during harvest rather than from processing. Harvest practices affect the later steps during processing. Thus it is suggested that the fruit be harvested directly into plastic crates rather than being transported in bulk to the packinghouse. This would prevent dust and dirt contamination of the fruit and ensure that they arrive in good condition and not crushed. It is worth mentioning that the NGOs working in Pakistan, such as USAID-funded companies, provide support to the growers of Khairpur with a sufficient number of plastic crates and other materials to develop the date sector (Abul-Soad 2013a). (b) Cold chain system: when transporting the fruit, one must also take into account its sensitivity. It is a large problem to transfer the fruit, particularly at rutab stage, from distant locations to the wholesale market at Khairpur or Karachi. It requires a trip of 7–14 h to transport Dhakki cv. dates from Dera Ismail Khan or Begum Jangi or from Turbat, Balochistan. The fruit is soft and contains moisture, and high temperatures during transportation should be alleviated with refrigerated compartments. The scenario now is that cured dates are transported, but the early-harvested rutab, which command higher prices, is not. (c) Introduction of new cultivars: although refrigerated transport is expensive, introducing elite international cultivars such as Medjool would justify such a cost and broaden export opportunities. In Karachi supermarkets, the price of a 400 g box of imported Medjool is PKR 350, while 1 kg of Aseel cv. of cured dates reaches PKR 80–120 in the month of October. (d) Farm management: from the above discussion, it is obvious that date palms in Pakistan do not receive special care as far as fertilizer application and other agricultural practices are concerned. This results in slow growth rates for the palms and low production. A national program for date palm maintenance and improvement is recommended in order to increase the productivity and fruit quality and consequently increase the export value of Pakistani dates. 5 Date Palm Status and Perspective in Pakistan 201 (e) Quality standard creation: it is worth noting that the international markets are mainly looking for semidry dates, tamar, with specific quality parameters, while the Khairpur region is mainly producing dry dates, chohara, with limited export market expect to India. Less than 10 % of exported Kharak are table fruit, while about 90 % were for the industrial purposes such as diced fruit and syrup production. Hygienic and big size fruits of Begum Jangi and Aseel cvs. are the main two requirements for the Pakistani dates to compete with other countries’ cultivars in the international market. Therefore, the tissue-cultured plants of Medjool, Deglet Noor, Ajwa, and Barhee cvs. need to be introduced to Pakistan as they are on the top in the international market. (f) Regulations and legislations: inspection and accreditation by local and international entities is very important and recently was required by the Chinese to import chohara from Pakistan. Also, there is a need for more exports to other international markets, particularly Europe and the USA. (g) Product promotion: through participation in international expositions, international media, pamphlets and leaflets, workshops, and training for key stakeholder (e.g., growers, laborers, contractors, transporters, merchants, processors). (h) Research and development support: lack of funding is the main hindrance facing the research institutes to continue in this sector and conduct the required investigations on either the output of current factories or to contribute in the establishment of a world-standard processing plant. 5.9 Conclusions and Recommendations Date palm is an essential Pakistani crop, ranked in importance after mango and citrus. Despite the position of Pakistan among the top ten producing countries, and one of the three largest exporters, the actual cash value of date fruits is very low. A major reason behind this fact is the lack of knowledge about Pakistani cultivars in the international market. Efforts are needed to promote cultivars such as Dhakki, Aseel, Muzawati, and Begum Jangi. In reality, more proficiency and efficiency in the date industry will lead to increased prices for Pakistani dates in the local and international markets. There are a few trials for the commercial micropropagation of date palms, but, under the current situation, tissue-cultured plants of the international elite cultivars such as Medjool, Barhee, Ajwa, and Safawi should be introduced with subsidized prices to growers to change the cultivar structure in Pakistan and to increase date export opportunities. As a rule of thumb, increasing tree productivity and enhancing fruit quality can be achieved through elevating awareness as well as the benefits of improved agricultural practices in the field. Using solar dryer technology is an emerging practice in Pakistan to protect the harvested date fruit from monsoon rains. According to conventional wisdom, attention should be paid to providing growers offshoots of early local cultivars such as Gajjar and Kasho Wari in Sindh province and Hillawi in Punjab. Unfortunately, the use of various materials as bunch covers has failed as a 202 A.A. Abul-Soad et al. means to protect the fruit during the ripening period, and growers prefer to harvest the crop at khalal stage to avoid fruit deterioration. Research must be supported to evaluate other alternative materials to cover fruit bunches during monsoon rains. Using plastic nets to cover the fruit bunch at khalal stage also could reduce early and late fruit drop. About 80 % of harvested fruits are processed and boiled to prepare chohara, mainly exported to India, with the remaining 20 % spread on mats for sun curing and/or recently dried using solar dryers. Sudden decline disease, associated with root rot, is currently a major threat to date palm cultivation in Sindh. The fungal disease hits all ages and devastates the palm within 6 months without any effective control measure at the moment. Dubas bug pest reduces the productivity of the date palm trees in Kech, Balochistan province, and chemical applications have failed to control it. The date palm lesser moth and late season pests cause considerable fruit drop in Sindh (Therhi area of Khairpur) and in Dera Ismail Khan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province). Three things are required in order to increase the export window of Pakistani dates: hygienic and bigger size fruits of Begum Jangi and Aseel cvs. and production of the world top cultivars Medjool, Deglet Noor, and Barhee that have already market with higher prices. Decision-makers and NGOs in Pakistan are exhibiting considerable interest in the date-processing sector. Nevertheless, only 12–13 factories of medium capacity currently exist in Khairpur where about 50 % of the cured dates are processed. Work inside these factories is laborious and machines rarely used. The quantity of processed dates is 15,000 mt yr−1. There is a need for transportation of fresh fruit under refrigeration and cold storage to extend the shelf life of processed dates and renovation of the machinery lines with pitting and cleaning machines. 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