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.

References

Achour, M., Ben Amara, S., Ben Salem, N., Jebali, A., Hamdi, M. (2003). Effet des conditionnements sous vide et sous atmosphère modifiée sur la conservation des dattes DegletNor en Tunisie. Fruits, 58(4), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.1051/fruits:2003008

Acourene, S., Buelquedji, M., Tama, M., Taleb, B. (2001). Caractérisation, évaluation de la qualité de la datte et identification des cultivars rares de palmier dattier de la région des Ziban. Recherche Agronomique, 5(8), 19-39.

Al-Shahib, W. & Marshall, R. J. (2003). The fruit of the date palm: Its possible use as the best food for the future. International Journal of Food Science and Nutrition, 54, 247-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/09637480120091982

Amira, E., Flamini, G., Saafi, E. B., Issaoui, M., Zeyene, N., Ferchichi, A., Hammami, M., Hedal, A. N., Achour, L. (2011). Chemical and aroma volatile compositions of date palm fruits at three maturation stages. Food Chemistry, 127, 1744-1754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2011.02.051

Chafi, A., Benabbes, R., Bouakka, M., Hakkou, A., Kouddane, N., Berrichi, A. (2015). Pomological study of dates of some date palm varieties cultivated in Figuig oasis. Journal of Materials and Environmental Science, 6(5), 1266-1275.

Dransfield, J., Uhl, N. W., Asmussen, C. B., Baker, W. J., Harley, M. M., Lewis, C. E. (2008). Genera Palmarum, the evolution and classification of palms. Kew, UK, Kew: Royal Botanic Gardens.

Elguerrouj, M., Paquot, M., Robert, C., Benjouad, A., Bouakka, M., Hakkou, A. (2011). Physicochemical composition of two varieties of Moroccan palm date fruit. Asian Journal of Chemistry, 23, 1932–1936.

El-Otmani, M., Bagayogo, S., El-Fadl, A., Benismail, M. C. (2015). Effect of regulated deficit irrigation on vegetative growth, fruiting, stomatal conductance and water use efficiency in ‘nules’ clementine under arid conditions of the souss valley of morocco. Acta Horticulturae, 1065, 1757-1766. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1065.225

Fadel, M. A., Kurmestegy, L, Rashed, M., Rashed, Z. (2006). Fruit color properties of different cultivars of dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.). Agricultural Engineering International CIGR Journal, 3, 1-9.

Hasnaoui, A., Elhoumaizi, M. A., Hakkou, A., Wathelet, B., Sindic, M. (2010). Physico-chemical characterization, classification and quality evaluation of date palm fruits of some Moroccan cultivars. Biology Journal of Scientific Research, 3(1), 139-149. https://doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v3i1.6062

Lobo, M. G., Elhadi, M. Y., Kader, A. A. (2013). Biology and postharvest physiology of date Fruit. In M. Siddiq, S. M. Aleid & A. A. Kader (Eds.), Dates: Postharvest science, processing technology and health benefits (pp. 57-80). UK, John Wiley & Sons Ltd Publisher. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118292419.ch3

Mansour, H. M. (2005). Morphological and genetic characterization of some common Phoenix dactlifera L. cultivars in Ismailia region. M.Sc. Thesis. Suez Canal University, Faculty of Science, Department of Botany, Egypt.

Marondedze, C., Gehring, C., Thomas, L. (2014). Dynamic changes in the date palm fruit proteome during development and ripening. Horticulture Research, 1, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1038/hortres.2014.39

ORMVAT (2015). Bilan Phoenicicole au titre de la compagne agricole 2014-2015. Office Régional de Mise en Valeur Agricole de Tafilalet (ORMVAT).

Rastegar, S., Rahemi, M., Baghizadeh, A., Gholami, M. (2012). Enzyme activity and biochemical changes of three date palm cultivars with different softening pattern during ripening. Food Chemistry, 134, 1279-1286. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2012.02.208

Salman Haidar, M., Iqrar, A. K., Summar, A. N., Jaskani, M. J., Rashad, W. K., Nafees, M., … Pasha, I. (2013). Fruit developmental stages effects on biochemical attributes in date palm. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Scences, 50(4), 577-583.

Shengji, P., Sanyang, C., Lixiu, G., Henderson, A. (2010). Phoenix Linnaeus. Flora China, 23,143-144.