Date palm status and perspective in palestine

Abstract

Cultivated date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L.) have existed in Palestine for 5,000 years. The Mediterranean climate conditions dominant in the area provide optimal conditions for growth and development of date palm. Date palm cultivation in the Palestinian territories exists in the regions of Jericho and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. This chapter reviews studies and research achievements on date palm in Palestine and addresses the importance of this sector: The status, production, and developmental constraints. After 1967, considerable areas of the Jordan Valley were cultivated by Israeli farmers with new high-quality date palm cultivars including Medjool. The adaptability of the new cultivars and the use of advanced techniques for propagation and cultivation of dates produced crop of excellent quality and yield to supply local and international markets. The total harvested area of dates in both the West Bank and Gaza was 725 ha in 2012. In the West Bank, there were 85,000 date palms spread over 600 ha, with a production capacity of 2,300 mt in 2012. However, the total date fruit production in Gaza was about 1,300 mt, with Hayany as a major cultivar in Gaza and Medjool in the West Bank. The average annual per capita consumption of dates in Palestine is 0.6 kg. Israel still remains a major supplier of dates to the Palestinian market. Several constraints face date cultivation and development, including high investment costs, poor marketing, and inequitable competition with Israeli products, limited water, pests, and diseases. However, there is a trend by formal governmental agencies as well as by national NGOs to support the cultivation of date palms in Palestine. The Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture has initiated several programs to support date palm cultivation in the Jordan Valley since 2000 with local NGO participation. Expansion of the knowledge about date palm will result in improving the productivity of this crop in Palestine.