Date Palm

In late July 1720 Sultan Ahmed III (r.1703-1730) and his high-ranking officials took the decision to host a circumcision festival in Istanbul that would start in mid-September and continue for three-weeks. As the narrative sources mentioned, among various other preparations that the officials had to take care of, the most urgent one was to construct big and small naḫıls (lit. “date palms”), consisting of wooden poles decorated with wax, fruit, flowers, and giant scale candy gardens (sing. bāġçe-i şeker). Despite this concern, the authors did not provide substantial information related to the construction process of these objects. Interestingly, this lack of information is also seen in other narrative sources on previous imperial celebrations. Based on an analysis of unknown archival documents and on a comparison with the textual and pictorial sources related to the 1720 festival, this essay intends to elucidate the design and construction process of these splendid objects, which were indispensable material forms of Ottoman imperial festivals.

Abstract :
Tissue culture is a recent technique mainly used for bulk rapid
propagation of several commercial plant species including date palm
(Phoenix dactylifera) . Normally, date palm is propagated in vitro by three
methods: the first method is by embryogenesis in which vegetative embryos
can continuously be formed from embryogenic callus. The embryogenesis
method is characterized by its ability to produce many plants in shorter
periods. The second procedure is organogenesis which provides date palm
buds that eventually give plantlets without passing through the callus stage.
However, since plantlets are produced directly from tissues of mother plant
without passing through callus stage, they are typically identical to mother
plant. The third method is in vitro propagation using young flowers in which
vegetative embryos can be inducing from embryogenic callus. This
technique depends on culturing of date palm young flowers on nutritional
media with high auxin concentrations to induce callus formation. There are
some major obstacles in practical application of date palm tissue culture in
the laboratory such as: browning of cultured tissues, vitrification of tissues,
bacterial and fungal contaminations, early rooting of tissue cultured buds,
deterioration of embryonic callus and its inability to form embryos, callus
formation on bases of rooting plantlets. The identified abnormalities and
variations in date palm plants produced from tissue culture, such as failure of
fruit set, multiple carpels, dwarfism of date palm trees, albinism of leaves,
abnormal growth and development of leaves and fruit strands, terminal bud
bending, dryness of apical bud and changes in fruit quality were also
discussed. In conclusion, most of these abnormalities mentioned previously
recover in most cases as the plants get old (10-year-old).

This paper deals with the date palm tree culture in pre-Islamic South Arabia, from its beginning until the 6th century AD. Crossing archaeobotanical data and epigraphic mentions of the date palm made it possible to draw up a diachronic map of ancient palm groves. This in turn served as a basis to discuss the issue of the origin and diffusion of the date palm culture at a regional scale: where and when did it begin? How did it spread? And what place did it take in the society, as foodstuff or as a symbol? It seems that this culture appeared only late in the region. It was mainly limited to the lower valleys of the inland and was not a long-lasting culture of South Arabia.

Despite the fact that date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) fruits are characterised by a high content of carbohydrates, the quality of their carbohydrates results in a low glycaemic response. In comparison to common fruits consumed such as strawberries and guava, Date Palm Fruits (DPFs) have exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. DPFs have been shown to act effectively as free radical scavengers due to their content of bioactive compounds such as phenolic acids, carotenoids, flavonoids, and polyphenols. These bioactive substances can absorb and neutralise free radical intermediates resulting from oxidation reactions in the human body. The vital action of DPF constituents contributes significantly in reducing physiological cellular damage and protecting the human body against oxidative stress-related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative diseases and cancer. From this point, it can be concluded that regular consumption of DPFs may be associated with a reduced risk of some chronic diseases due to the antioxidant, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, anticancer, and antimutagenic activities of DPFs. In fact, DPFs have been widely used since ancient times in folk medicine to treat various health conditions, demonstrating the importance of DPFs as a nutraceutical and a source of functional nourishment. This review aims to consolidate most of the work carried out on DPFs in terms of their contents of nutrients and biologically active components such as phenolic compounds, with special emphasis on their functions in improving general health.

A field study on a saline condition was carried out at agricultural farm of Deglet Nour date
palm during the 2012 growing season. It focuses on the irrigation water management problem as
affected by salinity in Oued Righ region (North Eastern Sahara, Algeria). To determine irrigation
requirements a computer model based on the computation of reference evapotranspiration, crop
coefficient, water holding capacity, leaching requirements and daily water use by date palm was
used. The average annual amount of irrigation for a palm tree was varied from 145-218 m 3 per
palm. According to the system of irrigation used, localized irrigation of one ha containing 120 palm
trees at Touggourt required water on annual basis as 17411 m 3 haG 1 yearG 1 . On the other side, the
use of traditional irrigation system (e.g., border irrigation) consumes more water to the tune of
26117 m 3 haG 1 yearG 1 . This model was employed to improve water management practices by the
farmers. The result shows that localized irrigation will, therefore, be more efficient than
non-localized one (e.g., border irrigation) and it can reduce irrigation water up to 50%.

Under the Joint FAO/IAEA programme, radiation-induced mutations are used for genetic improvement of both seed and vegetatively propagated plants. The FAO/IAEA programme maintains a database of officially released mutant varieties worldwide (http:www-mvd.iaea.org/). Currently, over 2300 mutant varieties are registered in our database. Coordinated Research Projects (CRPs) and Technical Co-operation Projects (TCP) are two major activities at IAEA that serve Member States at the national, regional and interregional levels. This article highlights CRPs on banana, underutilized and neglected crops, and tropical and subtropical fruits. CRPs on banana and underutilized and neglected crops have already been concluded. TCPs in South East Asia (Thailand, and Malaysia), Africa (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana), and the Middle East (Yemen) are discussed. The main projects in South East Asia are on genetic improvement of ornamental plants, fruits and cereals. In Africa, projects are on cassava, date palm, salinity and drought. In the Middle East, funded projects are related to salinity, and drought. In this article, major achievements are highlighted through CRPs and TCPs on low cost tissue culture, banana, underutilised and neglected crops, tropical and subtropical fruits.

Sap is a watery fluid that transports plant photosynthetic products towards various tissues
to support growth. Tapping palms for their sap is reported to have originated from India
approximately 4,000 years ago. Palm sap is rich in sugars with some inorganics and nutrients,
which are attractive components for bioethanol production. Based on advances and current
knowledge on the availability, collection, yield, and exploitation of various palm saps, this
article evaluates their potential and sustainability as feedstocks for bioethanol production

In this wide-ranging history of the African diaspora and slavery in Arabia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Matthew S. Hopper examines the interconnected themes of enslavement, globalization, and empire and challenges previously held conventions regarding Middle Eastern slavery and British imperialism. Whereas conventional historiography regards the Indian Ocean slave trade as fundamentally different from its Atlantic counterpart, Hopper’s study argues that both systems were influenced by global economic forces. The author goes on to dispute the triumphalist antislavery narrative that attributes the end of the slave trade between East Africa and the Persian Gulf to the efforts of the British Royal Navy, arguing instead that Great Britain allowed the inhuman practice to continue because it was vital to the Gulf economy and therefore vital to British interests in the region.

Hopper’s book links the personal stories of enslaved Africans to the impersonal global commodity chains their labor enabled, demonstrating how the growing demand for workers created by a global demand for Persian Gulf products compelled the enslavement of these people and their transportation to eastern Arabia. His provocative and deeply researched history fills a salient gap in the literature on the African diaspora.

El presente estudio es parte de un programa de mayor escala cuyo objetivo general es entender los procesos de introducción, adaptación y variación local de Phoenix dactylifera en el Perú. Los objetivos específicos del estudio fueron comparar las características ecológicas de las localidades con mayor abundancia de datilera en el Perú, determinar su diversidad fenotípica y determinar su uso tradicional. Se evaluaron las localidades de Zaña (Lambayeque) y Ocucaje (Ica) las más importantes por abundancia y diversidad morfológica. En éstas se determinaron las principales características abióticas y poblacionales, se encuestaron a familias que viven en las cercanías para determinar el uso de la datilera. En muestras de 10 individuos de cada población se tomaron datos morfológicos de semillas. Los datos de ambas localidades muestran que las datileras se encuentran en bordes de acequias y cultivos y hondonadas húmedas. En Zaña se presentaron más individuos adultos que juveniles, con radios de 3,0/1,0.  En Ocucaje el radio fue 1,5/1,0. En ambas localidades los individuos que más se observan son de gran tamaño (>10 m) y con edades mayores de 20 años. En áreas húmedas se observan juveniles (<2 m) y plántulas. En ambas localidades se observó alrededor de 25% con reproducción vegetativa. Respecto a la diversidad morfológica de la semilla se encontró una variación ligera en los valores de largo (X= 24.83±2.38 mm), ancho (X= 9.48±1.15 mm), espesor (X= 8.10±1.16 mm) y peso (X= 1.26±0.49 gr). El análisis de estos datos muestra no menos de 12 formas distintas. El uso principal es por su fruto (dátil) el cual es consumido, luego de un proceso de exposición al sol o mediante macerado en azúcar. Otros usos del tronco u hojas para cercos y construcciones rústicas, son menos frecuentes, también las hojas para ornamentos religiosos, el uso como planta ornamental es reciente y con un mercado creciente. Esto muestra que la palma datilera se ha convertido en cuatro siglos de introducción en parte importante del ecosistema del desierto costero y de la cultura de sus pobladores. Los datos poblacionales muestran estabilidad debido a una exitosa reproducción vegetativa y por semillas en ambas localidades.

Abstract: Study was conducted in one of the orchards Abeo Al-Kasseeb of Basrah for the season 2011, to see the effect of spraying of potassium in some of the qualities of the fruits of date palm cv. Hillawi, used tratments (spray spathes flowering after the open pollen and before pollination with concentration of 1 and 2% potassium sulfate) and (sprayed fruits at the stage of hababok with concentration of 1 and 2% potassium sulfate) in addition to tow treatments of control ( spraying distilled water and non-spray). the results showed no significant differences between the tratments in effect on the weight of the fruit and the results showed an increase in fruit weight the effect of treatment in the process of spraying fruit hababok with concentration of 2% potassium sulfate compared to the weight of the fruit in the treatment control. Excelled treatment sprayed fruits at the stage of hababok with concentration of 2% potassium sulfate significantly increased the water content of frui...

The date palm scale (DPS) Parlatoria blanchardi is a serious pest due to the damage it inflicts on its host tree (Phoenix dactylifera). To develop an effective control against DPS in arid regions, it is essential to know its bio-ecology including population dynamics and climatic factors influencing the duration and timing of life history and also the densities of different phenological stages (crawlers, first and second instars nymphs, adult males, and adult females). Monitoring of biological cycle and population dynamics of the pest were achieved through weekly counts of DPS densities on leaflets sampled at different position of date palm trees in an oasis of Ouargla region (Algerian Sahara Desert). Within this hyper-arid region, DPS established four generations per year, the most important was the spring generation. Two overlapping generations occurred in spring–early summer, and two in autumn–early winter; these two pairs of generations were interspersed by two phases of high-mortality rates, the first corresponds to winter cold, the second refers to the extreme heat of summer. Statistical analysis of the effects of the studied climatic conditions (minimum, maximum and mean temperatures, precipitation, humidity, wind, rain days, and climatic indices) on the DPS densities at different phenological stages showed great variability from one stage to another. Among these, adult females were the most affected by climate factors. For the total DPS population, high values of minimum temperatures negatively affected population density, while high maximum temperatures, hygrometry, and De Martonne aridity index showed a positive influence.

The exploration of somaclonal variation is an approach that could provide date palm breeding programs with new genotypes. Naturally occurring or induced variants may have superior agronomic quality and/or enhanced performance but could also harbor new traits such as tolerance to drought and salinity or resistance to major diseases i.e. bayoud. This chapter summarizes recent progress in terms of studying and exploring date palm somaclonal variation, and provides an outlook about future applications of this biotechnology in this socioeconomically important crop.

This study aim to use plant growth regulators and PEG to enhance embryo maturation and obtain a vigorous plantlets of Phoenix dactylifera L. cv. Malakaby. Embryonic nodular callus 0.5 g were treated with1 μM ABA or JA with BAP or NAA and PEG at 0 or 0.25%. Addition 1μm ABA into maturation medium was more effective to produce somatic embryo numbers (11.60) compared to 1μm JA (6.11). Addition PEG into maturation medium did not enhance significantly somatic embryo number (10.33 and 7.38 respectively). The embryos length increased by addition ABA into maturation medium compared to JA as well as, addition BA with ABA into maturation medium encouraged embryos length. Osmolarity affected by PEG seemed the main component required for protein synthesis. Furthermore, the plantlets which treated with PEG treatments appeared vigor and healthy compared to the plantlets which untreated with PEG.