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Date Palm Status and Perspective in Saudi Arabia

  • Chapter
Date Palm Genetic Resources and Utilization

Abstract

Date palm is a major crop significantly contributing to the agroecosystems in Saudi Arabia. There has been vast support and development in the agricultural sector in general and the date palm sector in particular during the last decades in Saudi Arabia. However, there are several challenges facing date cultivation, processing, and marketing. Such difficulties relate to water scarcity and salinity, soil erosion and desertification, insect pest infestations and disease, insufficient processing and packaging facilities and technologies, as well as a decline in date fruit demand. There is an enhancement in investment in world-class facilities and operations by leading date producers in Saudi Arabia. Large farms are prevalent in Saudi Arabia, and they are making substantial investments in new or replacement trees not in production signifying a further increase in production capacity; however, cultivar selection is generally not based on technical analyses such as yield, disease resistance, or water and fertilizers requirements. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of major recent aspects of the date palm in Saudi Arabia, a hot and arid region. Subjects discussed include fruit production, propagation, molecular and genetics descriptions, field management practices, entomology and pathology, postharvest handling, value-added products, commercial value, and nutrition and health benefits. Also presented are ways of minimizing the usage of nonrenewable natural resources as well as recent findings from research and development activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Date Palm Research Center of Excellence, King Faisal University, 420, Al-Hassa, 31982, Saudi Arabia

    Salah M. Aleid

  2. Department of Food and Nutrition Sciences, King Faisal University, 420, Al-Hassa, 31982, Saudi Arabia

    Salah M. Aleid

  3. Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture and Food Sciences, King Faisal University, Al-Hassa, Saudi Arabia

    Jameel M. Al-Khayri & Abdulaziz M. Al-Bahrany

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  1. Salah M. Aleid
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  2. Jameel M. Al-Khayri
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  3. Abdulaziz M. Al-Bahrany
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Correspondence to Salah M. Aleid .

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

    Jameel M. Al-Khayri

  2. Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

    Shri Mohan Jain

  3. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

    Dennis V. Johnson

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Aleid, S.M., Al-Khayri, J.M., Al-Bahrany, A.M. (2015). Date Palm Status and Perspective in Saudi Arabia. In: Al-Khayri, J., Jain, S., Johnson, D. (eds) Date Palm Genetic Resources and Utilization. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9707-8_3

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