Date palm status and perspective in qatar

Abstract

Qatar ranks as the 16 largest date-producing country in the world. There are 581,336 date palm trees growing in an area of 2,469 ha with date production of 21,491 mt as of 2010. It is the major fruit tree grown in the country, and date production is 7.2 % of the total agricultural production. No specialized institution exists for date palm research and development. Average recorded yield for 2010 was 8.7 mt/ha, the second highest in the region and higher than the world average of 6.3 mt/ha, for the same year. Yield has progressively increased since 1980. It is essential that this status should not only be maintained but also increased to reach a higher production rate similar to that being achieved in Egypt and other countries. Good potential exists to expand the area and production of dates, providing existing agricultural lands and water resources are used efficiently. Like other countries, the major constraints of yield are scarcity of good quality water, soil, and water salinity, low-yielding cultivars, poor agronomic practices due to a limited number of knowledgeable growers, insects and diseases, and weak research support. Tissue culture is in initial stages. Many research and development efforts are required to enhance date palm cultivation in the country to increase yield and economic return. For this purpose, several research and development projects have to be planned and implemented. A date palm-based industry needs to be set up to decrease imports of this commodity.