Study on the evolution of the fruit morphological and physico-chemical parameters of ‘Majhoul’ date palm during fruit growth

Mohamed ARBA; Iliass BERJAOUI; Ahmed SABRI

doi:10.14720/aas.2023.119.3.12436

Authors

Mohamed ARBA Plant ecophysiology and cultures of arid zones laboratory, Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, Agadir, Morocco
Iliass BERJAOUI SYGENTA company (Seed distribution and plant protection), Marrakech, Morocco
Ahmed SABRI National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA), Draa-Tafilalet Agricultural Research Center (CRA), Errachidia, Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14720/aas.2023.119.3.12436

Keywords:

Tafilalet area, date palm ‘Majhoul’, flowering phase, fruit development, fruit morphological and chemical parameters

Abstract

Date palm is an economically important species in the Middle East and North Africa. In Morocco, date palm is the main crop in the southeastern region, mainly in Draa-Tafilalet area. The ‘Majhoul’ is ranked among the worldwide best quality dates due to its large size and good texture. This work aimed to study the effect of three phases of flowering (early flowering, seasonal and late) on fruit quality of ‘Majhoul’ during its development. Experiments were carried out on an adult plantation in a modern palm grove in Tafilalet. Obtained results showed that, except for the chemical parameters of the fruit, there is a significant difference (p ≤ 0.01) between the three flowering phases for the morphological parameters studied (fruit mass, size, and dimensions) during all the fruit development stages. The early flowering phase yielded fruits with higher parameters than the other flowering phases. The mean fruit size (volume) for all the fruit development stages was 22 cm³ for the early flowering phase, whereas it was only 12.86 and 10 cm³, respectively, for the seasonal and late flowering phases. The final fruit size was 19.70, 13.55, and 9.97 cm³, respectively, for the early, seasonal, and late flowering phases.

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