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Date Palm Biotechnology pp 585–604Cite as

In Vitro Flowering of Date Palm

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Abstract

Flowering is a complex process which is regulated by several intricate external and internal factors that make its induction under in vitro culture highly sensitive. Recently, in vitro flowering has been extensively investigated for many plant species and significant advances in the understanding of this phenomenon have been made. However, with regard to date palm trees, this research area remains virtually unexplored. Accordingly, the present chapter aims to present some observations concerning in vitro flowering of date palm, and discusses the possible factors involved in the in vitro flowering induction of these plants. It also describes in vivo flowering in date palm and the limitations associated with its requirements. The chapter goes on to present the genes controlling the flowering process and to discuss the in vitro induction of bisexual flowers in date palm. The chapter concludes by discussing the importance of in vitro flowering to date palm propagation and its implications for future programs of early sex determination and genetic improvement via hybridization practices.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Technology in Tunisia and the International Atomic Energy Agency, under TC Project RAF/5/049. The authors would like to thank the staff of the Regional Centre of Oasian Agriculture Research in Deguache (southern Tunisia) for their help in providing offshoots from Tunisian cultivars. They would also like to thank Dr. Ismail El Hadrami, Chef of the Plant Physiology Laboratory in Marrakech for kindly providing plant material from Moroccan cultivars. Thanks are also due to Prof. Anouar Smaoui from the English section at the Sfax Faculty of Science for his constructive language polishing services.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Plant Biotechnology, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Sfax, Road Soukra, 1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    F. Masmoudi-Allouche, B. Meziou, W. Kriaâ & N. Drira

  2. Department of Biology, Institute for Engineering studies, University of Sfax, Road Soukra BPW, 3038, Sfax, Tunisia

    R. Gargouri-Bouzid

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  1. F. Masmoudi-Allouche
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  2. B. Meziou
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  3. W. Kriaâ
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  4. R. Gargouri-Bouzid
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  5. N. Drira
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Correspondence to F. Masmoudi-Allouche .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Applied Biology, University of Helsinki, Latokartanonkaari 5, Helsinki, 00014, Finland

    Shri Mohan Jain

  2. , Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, King Faisal University, Al-Hassa, 31982, Saudi Arabia

    Jameel M. Al-Khayri

  3. Middlebrook Ave 3726, Cincinnati, 45208, Ohio, USA

    Dennis V. Johnson

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Masmoudi-Allouche, F., Meziou, B., Kriaâ, W., Gargouri-Bouzid, R., Drira, N. (2011). In Vitro Flowering of Date Palm. In: Jain, S., Al-Khayri, J., Johnson, D. (eds) Date Palm Biotechnology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-1318-5_28

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