Optimizing date palm aerial offshoots avail through vegetative propagation [electronic resource].

Includes reference.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) trees are essential components of farming systems in dry and semi arid regions and can be produced equally well in small farm units as large scale commercial plantation units. So, palm tree is an excellent candidate for cultivation in Egyptian Agricultural Project in new reclamation regions, i.e. Toshkay and Shark EI-Aoinate. Date palm multiplication by transplanting offshoots still remains the best and most common method. Thus, this experiment was carried out to evaluate the rooting possibility and optimizing aerial offshoots avail through vegetative propagation by plant growth regulators injection. In this research, aerial offshoots of Samany and Zaghloul date palm cultivars weighing 7-9 kg were planted in two dates, mid of March and September in each season (2004 and 2005) at nursery of Pomology Dept., Fac. Agric. Cairo Univ. All aerial offshoots were treated by 7 injection treatments, before planting, by 5 ml auxin solution as follows: 1) distilled water (control), 2) 500 ppm ISA, 3) 1000 ppm ISA, 4) 1500 ppm ISA, 5) 500 ppm NAA, 6) 1000 ppm and NAA 7) 1500 NAA. Samany cultivar increased significantly roots number/aerial offshoot than Zaghloul cultivar. Whereas, the reverse was true concerning root length. Plantation at mid of March was better than that of mid September for all recorded parameters of aerial offshoots. Using auxin injection in the aerial offshoots bases significantly increased rooting percentage and means of roots number, length, diameter and length of developed leaves. Moreover, aerial offshoots injected by ISA at 1000 ppm or NAA at 1000 or 1500 ppm and planted in mid of March were the preferable for rooting percentages of Samany and Zaghloul cultivars and means of roots number, length, diameter and length of developed leaves.

Summary in arabic.

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