Comparative Study on Five Sudanese Date ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) Fruit Cultivars

Abstract

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is one of mankind’s oldest cultivated plants. A date palm fruit is an important component of the diet in most of the hot arid and semi arid regions of the world. The present study aimed at investigating the physical and chemical properties as well as microbiological characteristics of five date palm cultivars cultivated in Sudan. The results showed that the physical characteristics like fruit weight, length, flesh thickness, seed weight differed significantly between the various cultivars. Although most of the cultivars had similar chemical components, there were some few differences. However, the microbiological analyses proved that no significant differences were found among the cultivars.