Abstract
The Date palm (Phoenix dactilifera L.) was introduced to Mexico during the Spanish colonization, but its commercial production did not develop until the second half of the past century. A literature and field research, including a trip to the oases missions and main commercial production areas, allowed us to identify the actual status for this crop in Mexico. While the date culture in the old oases is fading, in the commercial production zones it is in active development. San Luis Rio Colorado and Mexicali Valley region, comprise 97% of the commercial crop production area of the country. The main cultivar is Medjool with 94% of the growing area; actual yields are around 7.9 ton/ha. Ongoing government support and motivated growers training will lead to the application of better crop practices. It is expected to increase yields around 10 ton/ha in the next 5 years. Commercial date production is focused on exports, the internal market is growing, as well as the transformation of the product. Knowledge of the actual trends of the crop will allow to understand their historic importance and its future potential as a commodity and food. Production practices, competitive advantages and research results are presented.
Highlights
The exact origin of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is unknown, but it is believed that this plant could have been domesticated in the southern region of present-day Iraq at least 6000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence from ancient Mesopotamia [1,2,3]
The molecular markers known as microsatellites or Single Sequence Repeats (SSR) are a useful tool to identify markers associated with fruit quality, production and disease resistance, and will be applied in a program to improve the productivity of the date palm [22]
The date growing industry has the potential to contribute to the economic development of the northwest of Mexico, since there are not many other regions in Mexico that can grow high quality dates
Summary
The exact origin of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is unknown, but it is believed that this plant could have been domesticated in the southern region of present-day Iraq at least 6000 years ago, according to archaeological evidence from ancient Mesopotamia [1,2,3] This plant has been cultivated by many cultures, such as the Sumerians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and later cultures in Western Asia. The regions where dates are commercially produced continue to expand, with 924 hectares planted that entered production in 2017 [12], and other possible sites where the crop could potentially be cultivated are being analyzed, as in Ciudad Delicias in the State of Chihuahua and the valley of the Yaqui in the State of Sonora. This perspective is a summary of the status of modern date palm cultivation, including its propagation, utilization, description, management, and socioeconomic importance, since its introduction to Mexico at the end of the 1960s
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