Date Palm Status and Perspective in Kuwait

Abstract

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) has been one of the major agricultural crops of Kuwait for over 90 years; however, large-scale cultivation began only 25 years ago. The Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research (KISR), Public Authority for Agriculture and Fish Resources (PAAFR), and Kuwait University are currently involved in date palm research in Kuwait. Traditional propagation methods by seed and offshoot were practiced initially for cultivation. Tissue culture propagation was developed at KISR in 1995 and the technology used for commercial-scale clonal plant production since 2000. Research activities including date palm cultivar introduction and evaluation, cultivation practices, irrigation and fertilization, pest and disease management, fruit production and postharvest technology, and germplasm maintenance were carried out. Major date palm biotechnological research also is being undertaken. Germplasm maintenance, micropropagation of elite cultivars for farmers, cultivar identification through DNA technology, pest and disease management, crop improvement, irrigation technology improvement, and biodiversity conservation of date palm are in practice. Approximately 601,563 trees are planted in 4,181 registered farms located in the Abdhally, Wafra, and Sulaibia regions of Kuwait. Six major cultivars are used for fruit production with Barhi ranking first in the number of trees. Current annual date production is about 45,000 mt. Monoculture is spreading in Kuwait posing a threat to date palm diversity. A national date palm award was developed by KISR to encourage farmers to diversify planted cultivars.