ISHS Acta Horticulturae 531: II ISHS Conference on Fruit Production in the Tropics and Subtropics
RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN THE PROPAGATION OF DATE PALM (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA) |
| Authors: | R.K.W. Hornung, Cay-D. Mentz |
| Keywords: | 2,4-D, activated charcoal, callus, immature inflorescence, somatic embryogenesis, somaclonal variation |
| Abstract:
Date palm produces few off-shoots which are required for replanting purposes, and consequently this vegetatively developing material is relatively expensive and in short supply. To overcome this difficulty the application of micropropagation was seen as a means of enabling the desired elite genotypes to be multiplied at an economic cost. Scaling up date palm production represents a difficult undertaking and requires much forward planning. The propagation of date palm through somatic embryogenesis is a lengthy procedure taking approximately 18 to 24 months to produce a weaned plantlet ready for the field. This paper describes the steps from the collection of plant material through the incubation of tissues to the hardening and field planting of date palm propagules. Only after the palm has produced its first crops, is it known whether the micropropagated plant has been propagated true-to-type. When micropropagation has taken many months the risks of abnormal development are clearly greatest. The possibility of abnormal date palms occurring as a consequence of employing systems involving somatic embryogenesis cannot be ignored, and the importance of such somaclonal variation therefore has to be discussed as a matter of some urgency before growers are committed to planting up inferior material. Plant biotechnology has much to offer but the procedures must be trusted by all concerned, and there is no room for costly errors. | |
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