Application of mycorrhizae in sustainable date palm cultivation

Ghazi Alkaraki

doi:10.9755/ejfa.v25i11.16499

Abstract

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is a significant and developing crop especially in the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East and North Africa regions. The area under cultivation of this tree is increasing annually. Date palms usually grown under harsh and unfavorable growing conditions with low rainfall and high rates of evaporation as well as in soils with low organic matter and nutrient deficiencies. Hence, date palm cultivation becomes dependent on application of high levels of fertilizers as well as on irrigation. This may lead to salinization of soil and leaching of nutrients to deep soils that might affect ground water. Therefore, it is important that date palm plantations are managed in a sustainable way to reduce the impact of date palm cultivation on ecosystems while maximizing dates yield through using such practices as mycorrhizal fungi technology. The application of mycorrhizal fungi technology is an option that can benefit both agronomic plant health and ecosystems. Mycorrhizae confer numerous benefits to host plants including improved plant growth and mineral nutrition, water uptake, tolerance to diseases and stresses such as drought, temperature fluctuation, metal toxicity and salinity. Mycorrhizae may also play a role in the formation of stable soil aggregates, building up a macro porous structure of soil that allows penetration of water and air and prevents erosion. All of these beneficial effects on plant health and soil fitness mean that mycorrhizae have the potential to increase agricultural productivity and are crucial for the sustainable functioning of agricultural ecosystems. This study provides an insight into the application of mycorrhizae in date palm cultivation.

Highlights

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is grown widely in hot, dry, desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East, and its fruit used as important source of nutrition
Date palm cultivation becomes dependent on high levels of chemicals for production and for protection from diseases and insects, as well as on irrigation which has led to the salinization of many soils
This paper provides an insight into how mycorrhizae application might benefit date palm cultivation through more sustainable management and the practical use of mycorrhizal technology for date palm plantations

Summary

Introduction

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is grown widely in hot, dry, desert regions of the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa and the Middle East, and its fruit used as important source of nutrition. In the case of date palm, the limited development of the root system (low densities of root hairs), along with field observations of high levels of mycorrhizal colonization, suggest that they benefit greatly from mycorrhizal relationship It becomes especially more important under harsh climatic conditions prevailing in arid and semi-arid regions like the Arabian Peninsula. AMF has been demonstrated to have high biocontrol potential of plants against many pests (Quarles, 1999), especially for plant diseases caused by Phytophtora and Fusarium pathogens (Vigo et al, 2000) These observations suggest that AMF may affect plant and soil microbial activities by stimulating the production of root exudates, phytoalexins, and phenolic compounds (Morandi, 1996; Jaiti et al, 2007). More active, mechanisms are used by AMF to trap and strangle root-feeding nematodes

Utilization of commercial AMF in date palm cultivation

AMF status AMF inoculated Uninoculated Significance

Findings

Conclusions