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DevelopmentofSustainableDatePalmProductionSystems
inGulfCooperationCouncilCountriesUpdateonresearchinprogressinKingdomofBahrain,StateofKuwait,Sultanateof
Oman,StateofQatar,KingdomofSaudiArabiaandStateoftheUnitedArabEmirates
(20072010).
ProjectReport-1
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Acknowledgments
ThisreportwascompiledbyDr.MohammedAlAbid,datepalmprojectmanager(ICARDAOman),
withtheinputofnationalresearchersandcoordinatorsintheGCCcountriesDr.AbdulAzizAbdul
Kareem,Dr.
Ahmed
Bin
Nasser
Al
Bakry,
Dr.
Bander
Al
Ataiby,
Eng.
Saud
A.
Al
Eyyed,
Eng.
Asaad
MohamedAlRomaih,Eng.MansoorIbrahim,,Eng.YousafAlKhulaifi,Eng.AdnanAbdullahAfalek,
Eng.SawsanAlSalem,Eng.SadiqIsaMansoorEng.RashidKhamisBurshaid,Dr.IshaqAhmed
MohamedAlRuqaishiEng.AbdullahJ.B.AlBuainain,andGCCSGrepresentativeDr.KhalidAl
Zedjali,Dr.MohamedAaouine,formermanagerofthisproject(20072010).Compiledbythecurrent
projectmanagerDr.MohammadAlAbid.EditedbyLinaArafeh(ICARDA).
ISBN: 9291272525`
Keywords:Date palm production; Crop Management; Integrated Pest Management; Biodiversity and
germplasm conservation; Postharvest techniques; Red Palm Weevil; Lesser Date Moth; Dubas;
borers;problemsolvingresearch;technologytransfer;capacitybuilding;irrigationsystems;chemical
andorganicfertilization;packaging;liquidpollination;DNAextraction;fingerprinting;citricacid;fruit
thinning; organic farming; natural enemies; drying methods; marketing; primer combinations;
KingdomofBahrain;StateofKuwait;SultanateofOman;StateofQatar;KingdomofSaudiArabia;
Stateof
the
United
Arab
Emirates;
GCC
countries;
Arab
Peninsula;
ICARDA;
International
Center
for
AgriculturalResearchintheDryAreas.
InternationalCenterforAgriculturalResearchintheDryAreas(ICARDA)
P.O.Box5466,Aleppo,Syria.
Tel:(96321)2213433
Fax:
(963
21)
2213490
Email:[email protected]
Website:www.icarda.org
Theviewsexpressedarethoseoftheauthors,andnotnecessarilythoseofICARDA.Wheretrade
namesareused,itdoesnotimplyendorsementof,ordiscriminationagainst,anyproductbythe
Center.Mapshavebeenusedtosupportresearchdata,andarenotintendedtoshowpolitical
boundaries.
Copyright2011ICARDA(InternationalCenterforAgriculturalResearchintheDryAreas)
Allrightsreserved.
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TableofContents
ExecutiveSummary
1. Introduction1.1 Backgroundandcontext
1.2 Projectoverview
1.3
Workplan
2007
2010
2. Projectachievementsbycountry20072010
2.1 Problemsolvingresearch
2.2 Technologytransfer
3. Projectachievementsbyresearchtheme20072010
4.Summary
of
achievements
other
topics
and
activities
4.1 Technologytransferandknowledgesharingactivities
4.2CapacityBuilding
5. ConstraintsandActions
6. WorkplanYear201120127. Annexes
Annex1 Publications
Annex2 TrainingCoursesandWorkshops
Annex3 ActivitiesbyCountry
Annex4 ResearchActivities
Annex5 Meetings
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ExecutiveSummary
DevelopingSustainableDatePalmProductionSystemsintheGulfCooperationCouncilCountries.
Reportofactivitiesandachievements,20072010
Thepurposeofthisreport istoupdatepartnersandstakeholders involvedontheachievementsandprogresstodateof
theproject:
Development
of
Sustainable
Date
Palm
Production
Systems
in
the
Gulf
Cooperation
Council
Countries.
The DatePalm project isa partnership between ICARDA the InternationalCenter forAgriculturalResearch in theDry
AreasandtheKingdomofBahrain,StateofKuwait,SultanateofOman,StateofQatar,KingdomofSaudiArabiaandState
oftheUnitedArabEmirates.
Thisresearchanddevelopmentprojectaimstoproducenewknowledgeandpracticestoimprovetheproductionsystems
fordatepalmintheGulfregion.Thisworkincludesimprovingcultivarsproductivity,managingnaturalresources(landand
water)foroptimalperformance;useofdifferent inputs inthecroppingprocess(fertilizers,pollinators,wastewater,etc.),
and the study of genetic diversity of datepalm. The transfer of technology and experience between the partners is an
integralpartoftheproject.
Overviewof
activities
2007
2010
ProjectComponent FocalArea
ResearchArea Bahrain KSA Kuwait Qatar UAE Oman
1.Cropmanagement 2.Integratedpestmanagement 3.Postharvesttechniques 4.Biodiversityconservation Summaryofachievements20072010
Cropmanagement: researchers in the projects crop management component found that that fruit thinning and using
sewagewaterthroughbubblersgavebetteryieldand fruitquality.TheseresultsarebeingtransferredtotheotherGulf
Countries. Crop protection and integratedpestmanagement: these researchers identified two pesticides, effective in
reducingfruitinfestationandidentifiednaturalenemiesofLesserDateMoth;morethan305datepalmpestswhichbelong
to
twenty
two
orders
were
identified
through
faunal
survey
and
their
predators,
belonging
to
seventeen
species,
were
documentedasabiologicalpest infestationcontrolmeasure.Scientistsstudyingpostharvesttechniquesconcludedthat
dryingfruitinlocallymadeglasschambersreducedtheperiodofdryingfrom12to5days;theproductionofaddedvalue
ingredientsuchascitricacidfromnonmarketabledatesbyusingmoderntechniqueswasinvestigated.Studiesweredone
ofconsumerpreferences fordatepalmpackaging.Biotechnologyconservation: facilities forgenomicanalysesandDNA
extraction were established in all countries; fingerprinting of date palm cultivars was done to determine their genetic
diversity level. A bulletin on harvesting and postharvest handling of dates was prepared and distributed in Arabic and
English;Publications resulted fromthework todate (see list inAnnex1);85 researcherswere trained indifferent fields
(Annex2);variousprocessesmethodsweretestedanddocumented.
Researchpartners
also
identified
anumber
of
constraints.
These
include:
aneed
for
more
training
courses
with
content
thatbetterfitstheskilllevelofparticipantsandforbettertraininginfrastructureinsomecountries.Anadequatebudget
andasmoothpaymentscheduleisaneednotalwaysmetduetothedelayinreceivingallocatedbudgetasaresultof
countryregulations.Theslowresponseinboth,dealingwithprojectrequirementssuchaspublicationsandprogress
reportsaswellasindealingwithlimitedbudgetandslowbudgettransferwasfoundtobeahindrancetothedevelopment
oftheproject.
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.1. Introduction1.1 Backgroundandcontext
Thedate
palm
tree
tolerates
relatively
harsh
climatic
and
soil
conditions
under
which
no
other
cropwillgivereasonablereturns. It isan irreplaceabletree in irrigabledesert lands,providing
protectiontoundercropsfromheat,windandotherthreatsandplaysabigroleincombating
desertification.
Datepalmofferscountriesapracticalsolutiontoimprovefoodsecurityandrurallivelihoods.It
is a good food source of high nutritive value that offers dategrowing countries in the Gulf
CooperationCouncil(GCC)astablefoodsourcefortheirpopulations.Datepalmalsoprovides
workopportunities
to
aconsiderable
numbers
of
farm
laborers.
Today, the date palm industry is facing serious problems. These include low yields, a lack of
appropriatepackingandpresentation, limitedproductionofsound industrialdateproducts,a
lackof technological knowhow, and threats from pests such as Lesser DateMoth, Red Palm
Weevil,dustmites,borers,Dubas,etc.
Toaddressthese issuesandsetprioritiesforresearchanddevelopment,theGulfCooperation
Council
countries
joined
the
Consultative
Group
on
International
Agricultural
Research
(CGIAR)
in 2003, and assigned the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
(ICARDA) to facilitate a research initiative on date palm in the NationalAgricultural Research
Systems,(NARS)oftheparticipatingcountries1
1.2 Projectoverview
The project on Development of Sustainable Date Palm Production Systems in the Gulf
CooperationCouncilCountriesresultingfromthispartnershipwascreatedin2004.
Box1.
Project
components
and
research
themes
ProjectComponent FocalArea
ResearchThemes
1. Problemsolvingresearch PropagationandCropManagement Cropprotectionandintegratedpestmanagement Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques,
marketingandprocessing
Biotechnologyandgermplasmconservation2. Technologytransfer Transferandadoptionofsuitabletechnologiesdeveloped
regionally and/orinternationally
3. Capacitybuilding Strengtheningnationalagriculturalresearchsystems(NARS)andprovidingspecializedtrainingfornationalresearchstaff,
extensionagentsandfarmersintheparticipatingcountries
4. Technologyandexpertsystems
Technologyandexpertsystemstodevelopadatepalmexpert
system
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1.3Workplan20072010:
Thedatepalmresearchprojecthas58activities,see(Table1)and(Annex3&4)
Table1:Numberofdatepalmresearchactivitiesapprovedamonglisted(GCC)countries
2. Projectachievementsbycountry20072010
2.1 Problemsolvingresearch
KingdomofBahrain1. CropManagement: The effect of chemical and organic fertilizers on the production and
growth of date palm is under investigation, and the use of liquid pollination for the
improvementofthedatepalmyieldandqualitywaseffective.Furtheronfarmverificationis
underprogress
2. IntegratedPestManagement:Morethan305datepalmpests,whichbelongto22orders,were identified through faunal survey and their predators which belong to seventeen
speciesweredocumentedasabiologicalpestinfestationcontrolmeasure
3. Biodiversity and germplasm conservation: Facilities for genomic studies were alsoestablished.
KingdomofSaudiArabia
1. CropManagement:Threemalepollinatorswithexcellentpollenviabilityandgermination,together with their contribution to the yield enhancement have been identified. On the
otherhand,preharvestwithholdingof irrigationwas ineffectiveonskinseparationof the
fruit
2. IntegratedPestManagement: A survey detected two dust mite species and their controlmeasure.Usingpesticide BiacaoNo.1 (0.36%Matrine)provedeffective;severalpredators
to control Lesser Date Moth (LDM) as a biological control measure were identified; in
addition,biopesticide (Spinosad)wasstudiedandwasalsoeffectiveagainst thecontrolof
LDM
3. Postharvesthandlingandprocessing techniques: Research identified new, moresuitablepackaging containers for date fruits, determined their optimum storage conditions for
maximumefficiency,andrankedtheiracceptancebydateconsumers
4. Biodiversity Conservation: Important local cultivars of date palm were characterized andtheir DNA fingerprint data was established
ResearchArea Bahrain KSA Kuwait Qatar UAE Oman Total
1.Cropmanagement 2 2 6 2 2 9 23
2.Integratedpestmanagement 1 3 1 1 1 2 9
3.Postharvesttechniques 0 1 1 1 3 1 7
4.Biotechnology 1 1 1 3 1 2 9
SubTotal 4 7 9 7 7 14 48
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3. Postharvest handling and processing techniques: Researchers identified new and moresuitablepackagingcontainersfordatefruits,determined theiroptimumstorageconditions
formaximumefficiency,andrankedtheiracceptancebydateconsumers
4. BiodiversityConservation: Important local cultivars of dates were characterized and theirDNAfingerprintdatawasestablished.
Qatar1. CropManagement:Fruitthinningtoimproveventilationprovedtobeveryeffective;buton
farmtestingisstillunderprogress;studiesonirrigationscheduleisunderway
2. Postharvest handling and processing techniques: Using locally made glass chambers,equipped
with
shelves
and
ventilation,
was
effective
for
drying
dates
in
shorter
periods,
(5
days only, vs. 12 days under plastic tunnels, or 1418 days for direct sun drying) and for
reducingskinseparation.Datefruitsdriedinthischamberweremuchcleaner
3. Biodiversity Conservation: Genetic diversity focused on the study of 12 local cultivars,established DNA markers identified to detect the male date palms; newly designed SSR
markersdevelopedby(ICARDA)wereverifiedandtheirefficiencyingeneticcharacterization
wasconfirmed.
UnitedArabEmirates1. CropManagement:Waterrequirementsfordatepalmproductionareunderinvestigation2. Postharvest handling and processing techniques: Two biopesticides were effective in
controlling infestation by borers and mites, verification in other (GCC) countries is under
way; Biopesticide: Baicao No.1 (0.36% Matrine) succeeded in controlling dust mite
infestation
3. Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques:Usingaglasshousetoreducetheperiodoffruitdryingandimprovethefruitqualitywaseffective;technologyisbeingtransferredto
growers; Tamar stage of fruit harvesting yielded high quality fruits with reduced skin
separation
4. BiodiversityConservation:Important localcultivarsofdateswere identifiedandtheirDNAwasextractedforgeneticcharacterizationandDNAfingerprinting.
Sultanateof
Oman
1. CropManagement:StudiesontheeffectofthesourceofpollengrainonfruitsetindicatedthatsourcesofGhareefandKhoori,wereeffectiveonthefruitsetofZabadcultivar,andthat
pollen source of Bahlani was effective in enhancing the fruit weight. The application of
Boronwasineffectiveinenhancingthefruitset.Significanteffectsofpreharvestapplication
ofEthephoneon fruitripening,shrinkingand falling inNighalcultivarwere identified,and
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established; tissueculturederived from these genotypeswas uniform at the genetic level
usingSSRmarkeranalysis,(Annex3and4)
2.2 Technologytransfer1. Thestrategyonthecontrolofredpalmweevilwaselaboratedintheinternationalmeeting
onRed PalmWeevilControlStrategyheld inElche,Spain inApril2324,2007 and itwas
dispatchedtothe(NARS)ofparticipating(GCC)countries
2. Arabic and English versions of a bulletin containing the latest developments andaccumulated knowledge on postharvest handling techniques published by (ICARDA) were
distributed among the six countries. Other pertinent publications in this field were
purchasedfromUniversityofCaliforniaDavisanddistributedamongtheinvolved(NARS)
3. Fourthematicmeetingswereconductedtosharetheresultsofdatepalmprojectamongthe(NARS)oftheparticipating(GCC)countries
4. Effectivetechniquesidentifiedinthedatepalmprojectarebeingtransferredtothegrowers'field.
3. Projectachievementsbyresearchtheme20072010
Table4: NumberofprogressandachievementsmadeamongGCCcountries
Research
Area
Bahrain
KSA
Kuwait
Qatar
UAE
Oman
Total
1. PropagationandCropmanagement 2 2 6 2 2 7 21
2. CropprotectionandIntegratedpestmanagement 1 3 1 0 1 2 8
3. Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques 0 1 1 1 3 1 7
4. Biotechnologyandgermplasmconservation 1 1 1 3 1 2 9
SubTotal 4 7 9 6 7 12 45
Theme1:PropagationandCropManagement
Out of 23 research activities carried out in three (GCC) countries, progress was made for 21
activities, and key results were generated under the thematic area of propagation and crop
managementofdatepalmresearch,See(Table4).
Outof13techniquesanalyzed,tenwerefoundeffective;onewasineffective in improvingthe
date palm productivity. Effective techniques were transferred to the growers' field and the
(NARS)ofthe(GCC)countiesinvolved.Theineffectivetechniquefortheyieldimprovementwas
suspended.Some
of
the
research
activities
are
still
under
investigation
and
the
results
are
yet
tobegenerated.Thekeyconclusionsgeneratedare:
1. Useofbubblersseemstobethebestirrigationsystemforthedatepalmproduction2. Withholdingirrigationbeforeharvestisnotrelatedtoskinseparationofthefruit3. Theeffectivenessofthinning, liquidpollinationanduseofringsto improveventilationwas
ff ti d lt b i t f d t
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8. Evaluation and selection of male pollinators and mulching experiments are still underinvestigation
9. TheeffectofBorononfruitsetprovedineffectiveandtheexperimentsweresuspended.Theme2:Cropprotectionandintegratedpestmanagement(IPM)
Progress was made in eight out of the nine undertaken activities. Crop protection and
integratedpestmanagementresearchactivitiesfocusedonidentifyingthemajorpestsofdate
palm fruit infestation, as well as on their natural enemies, if any, and on identifying suitable
controlmeasuresusing insecticidesandpesticides,withthespecialfocusonmajorpestssuch
as: Lesser Date Moth (LDM), dust mites and borers. Pest control methods which are found
effective were further tested in the growers' field and the (NARS) of the (GCC) counties
involved.Surveyprocess identifiedafewnaturalLDMenemiesandmorenaturalenemiesare
beinginvestigated.Thekeyinformationgeneratedisasfollows:
1. Survey results indicated more than 305 pest species representing 22 genera in Bahrain,KuwaitandKSA
2. Out of three pesticides tested, Trebon20%EC and Kingbo 0.6%SL were effective againstthemajorpestLesserDateMoth (LDM) inreducingfruitinfestation
3. Seventeennaturalenemies predatorsrepresentingfiveordersforthecontrolofLDM wereidentifiedandarebeingevaluated
4. SurveyforadditionalnaturalenemiesofLDMisunderway5. BiopesticideSpinosadwasveryeffectiveagainsttheearlierknownpredatorsofLDMpest.
Thiswouldbefurthertestedinotherpartnercountries
6. Twobiopesticideswereeffectiveagainsttheinfestationofborersandmitesbuttheyneedfurtherverificationintheother(GCC)countries
7. Biopesticide Baicao No.1 (0.36% Matrine)provided a good level of control against dustmites
8. ConventionalinsecticideNironewaseffectiveincontrollingdustmites.Theme3:Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques
Progress was made in all seven research activities. The key activities focused on identifying
suitable drying methods, packagingmaterials, storage conditions and the production of citric
acid from dates a valueadded product. The techniques which were effective were further
testedin
the
growers'
field
and
at
the
(NARS)
of
the
(GCC)
counties
involved.
The
following
key
results were generated under the thematic area of postharvest handling and processing
techniques:
1. Usingsmallglasshouses,withacapacityof18tonsperseasoninUAEprovedeffective;andtheMinistryofEnvironmentandWatersubsidized50%oftotalcostfortheestablishmentof
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4. Identifying thebest packaging containers and storage conditions for importantcultivars isstill underway but some preliminary results were obtained concerning the size of the
container,itsnatureandlevelofacceptancebyboth,thepackinghousesandtheconsumers
5. Usingthesubmergedtechniquefortheproductionofcitricacidfromdatesprovidedbetterresultsinreducingthefermentationperiodcomparedtothesurfacetechnique.
Theme4:Biotechnologyandgermplasmconservation
Nineoutofnineactivitiesunderthematicareaofbiotechnologyandgermplasmconservationin
datepalmresearchwerecompleted.ThekeyactivitiesfocusedonestablishingDNAfingerprint
dataset for the local cultivars of date palm and the assessment of their genetic diversity.
Facilitiesforgenomicstudieswereeitherestablishedorupgradedinafew(GCC)countries.The
keyinformationgeneratedincludes:
1. Asetofeighteen,simplesequencerepeat(SSR)markerswasscreenedamong24genotypesbelongingtofour(GCC)countries,namelySaudiArabia,Kuwait,BahrainandOman.Atotal
of610alleleswereidentifiedwithanaverageof29allelesperlocus(rangeof1332alleles)
andtheirpolymorphisminformationcontent(PIC)valuewas 0.88(0.810.93)
2. Facilitieswereestablishedand/orupgradedinSaudiArabiaandQatar3. FacilitiesforDNAextractionwereestablishedinKuwait,BahrainandUAE4. Asetof12samplesoftissueculturederivedplantsofKhalasaDhahravariety,alongwith
their female parent, were analyzed with 20 (SSR) markers to identify the polymorphism
amongthetestsamples,andnopolymorphismwasdetected
5. In collaboration with Cornell University, (ICARDA) developed a set of 1000 SSR markers.Thirtymarkersweretestedfortheirefficiencytoamplifylocaldatepalmcultivarsand found
to be polymorphic as well as codominant, which can be used for the genetic diversity
analysisofdatepalm
6. Optimizing methods to reduce cost, time and effort for samples analysis is underway(Annex4).
4. Summaryofachievementsothertopicsandactivities
4.1 Technologytransferandknowledgesharingactivities
StrategyforcontrolofRedPalmWeevil
ThestrategyforthecontroloftheRedPalmweevilthatwaselaboratedbyaninternational
Panel,includingthedatepalmcoordinatorandscientistsfrom(GCC)countriesatElche
Spainin2007wassenttotheinvolved(NARS)oftheinvolvedcountries.
Transfer of most recent knowledge and practices on postharvest handling and
i t h i f d t d i th USA
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Transferoftechniquestestedindatepalmresearchtogrowers'field
Technologyondatedryinginsmallglasshouseswastransferredtogrowers'fieldsinthe
UAE
Techniques
such
as
liquid
pollination,
fruit
drying
in
plastic
houses,
the
application
of
Ethrelonthinningandthoserelatedtothebestharvestingstageforimproveddryingand
identifying the effective pesticides and biopesticides are ready to be transferred to
growers.
ThematicMeetings
Four thematic meetings were organized to promote the sharing of results, ideas and
experiencebetweenthescientistsandNARSrepresentativesintheparticipatingcountries.
1. Postharvest techniques' meeting was held in Ras AlKhaima, UAE, in the period of 1516March,2009.Themeetingwasattendedby11scientistsandtwointernationalexperts
2. Integrated PestManagement meeting in Manama, Kingdom of Bahrain, was held in theperiod of 2226 March, 2009. The meeting was attended by 14 scientists and four
internationalexperts
3. CropmanagementmeetinginKuwaitcity,StateofKuwait,washeldintheperiodof1213April,2009.Themeetingwasattendedby17scientistsandoneexpert
4. Biotechnologymeeting was held in Rumais, Sultanate of Oman on 11 May, 2009. Themeeting
was
attended
by
13
scientists
and
four
international
experts.
The
reports
of
each
meetingarein(Annex5).
4.1 CapacityBuilding
ICARDAgaveanumberoftrainingcoursesandworkshopstoresearchers involved inthe
projecttoenhancetheirtechnicalskills.ThesesessionsweresupportedbytheDatePalm
ProjectFund.Theprojectteamalsoencouragedscientistsfromparticipatingcountriesto
attendconferencestopresenttheirwork.
Anumber
of
manuals
and
publications
were
prepared
or
provided
to
partners.
The
project
coordinatorattendedseveralmeetingsandconferencestogatherandupdateinformation
ondatepalmresearch,andhepublishedseveralreports.
5. ConstraintsandActions
The date palm research project is facing some issues which slow down the success rate of the
project.Thelistofbottlenecksandtheirpossiblesolutionsaredescribedasfollows:
1. Insufficient skilled human resources: Number of skilled national research staff is notenough to carry out diverse as well as sophisticated research activities. In addition, the
present researchers require more training and upgrading in research techniques,
experimentaldesign,statisticalresultanalyses,etc
2. Slowresponseindealingwithprojectrequirementssuchaspublications,progressreports,
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Action is required to quantitatively and qualitatively support the NARS through increasing the
projectworkingstaffandcatchingupwithmoderntechnologyextensively.It isequallyrequiredto
increasethefundingtorespondtotheessentialrequirementsoftheongoingandplannedresearch
aswell
as
the
human
capacity
building
which
is
considered
vital
for
the
success
of
the
project.
6. Workplan20112012
To accomplish the project objectives, activities of research, technology transfer and capacity
building components will continue in 20112012. The number of research activities to be moved
forwardunderfourthematicareasinall(GCC)countriesissummarizedin(Table5).Thetotalof46
researchactivitieswillfurtherincrease.
Table5:
Number
of
research
activities
carried
forward
for
the
year
2011
2012
ResearchArea Bahrain KSA Kuwait Qatar UAE Oman Total
1. Cropmanagement 2 2 5 2 2 6 19
2.Integratedpestmanagement 1 3 1 3 1 2 11
3. Postharvest 0 1 1 1 3 1 7
4. Biotechnology 1 1 1 2 1 2 8
SubTotal 4 7 8 8 7 11 46
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IPMand
Plant
Protection
Lighttrapsusedtoassesstheimportanceand
distributionoftheinsectanddeterminethenumber
ofitsgenerations
IPM
and
Plant
protection
Differentfaunaidentifiedandnaturalenemiesfound
foroptimumpestcontrol
Biotechnology
SeparatingDNAusingGelelectrophoresissystem
Postharvesttechniques
Ventilatedglasschamberswithshelvesproducemuch
cleanerfruits
and
cut
down
date
drying
period
from
1418days,toonlyfivedays
Crop Management Crop Management
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Annex1
Publications
SaudiArabia
1. StudyoftheGeneticfingerprintof25importantCultivarsinKSA,(HassanBouOweis,KhaledBouJleia;HajjiAshour)
2. Studyofthepreharvestwaterholdingonthefruitscaling,(NasserSalemAlGhanem;NabilAbdulRahmanBoudi;ShaheenHamadAlShaheen;SaoudAlSaoud)
3. SurveyStudyontheDatepackagesinKSAandthereceivingbytheconsumers,(MohammadAbdul Rahman Al Ghannam; Mohammad Ahmad Alajamal; Radhi Hassan Al Amer; Fakhry
AbdullahAlShareed;KhaledBouJleia)
4. FieldSurveyofDustMiteSpeciesinAlAhssa,(AbdullahAliAlShaqqaq;SalimMohammadAlBather; Mansour MohammadAlBaqshi;Sammi AhmadAl Sarroudj; Abdel MounemAli Al
Shawwaf;AbdelMounemAlDandan)
5. AssessmentandselectionofsomePollinatorinAlAhssaregionandStudytheireffectontheproductivityandqualityof the fruits, (AhmadAbdulAzizAlAmraan;MohammadSaad Al
Housseini;NabilMohammadAlWosseibaii;HajjiHousseinAlAshour;HajjiAliAlHajji)
Thesepublications
available
in
Arabic
only
SultanateofOman
1. Developmentofgenomictoolsforgermplasmcharacterizationindatepalm2. Assessmentofabnormalitiesfoundinthetissueculturederiveddatepalms.3. StudiesontheEffectofSourceofPollengrainsonFruitsetofZabadCultivar
SaidalSabahi;NaserAlAbri;SulaimanAlAmri;SalimAlHumami;MahmmodAlRashdi;
HamadAl
Dhuhli;
Mohamed
Al
Hinaai;
Mr.
Ibrahim
Al
Busaidi
4. EffectofBoronfoliarapplicationonfruitsetofZabadcultivar5. EffectofpreharvestapplicationofEthrelonripeningandqualityofNighaldates6. Study on effectof fruit thinning of Khalas Date Palm cultivar on fruit drop, ripening time,
yieldanddatesquality.
7. EffectofpreharvestapplicationofEthrelonKhalasAldahradatesripeningandquality8. Effectofmulchingwithpruningleavesofdatepalmonirrigationwateravailabilityanddate
palmgrowth,yieldandfruitquality.
9. Production of citric acid from dates (Mohammed AlAbid; Mansorah AlAmry; Fouziah AlRawahy).
Qatar
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UAE
1. Study of the drying techniques and storage on the pollen viability and percentage ofsproutingof (phoenixdactyl)inAlHamraniyehResearchStation,(AmerMohammadBandar
AlAan;
Saeed
Hassan
Al
Bagham;
Mansour
Ibrahim
Mansour;
Saleh
Abdullah
Akrout;
Walid
MohammadAlSafadi)
2. Comparison study of the drying by the solar energy through the glass and plastic dryingchamber, and the thermal chamber, (Amer Mohammad Bandar Al Aan; Saeed Hassan Al
Bagham;MansourIbrahimMansour;SalehAbdullahAkrout)
3. IdentifyingthebestmaturitystageofLulu,BarhiandKhalasforDryingandMarketing,(AmerMohammad Bandar Al Aan; Saeed Hassan Al Bagham; Mansour Ibrahim Mansour; Saleh
AbdullahAkrout)
4. Feasibility study of different dates drying techniques with regards to economic feasibility,productioncapacityandoperationalcost,(AmerMohammadBandarAlAan;SaeedHassan
AlBagham;MansourIbrahimMansour)
ThesepublicationsavailableinArabiconly
Kuwait1. Crop Management trial on irrigation related research and fertilization research, (Abdul
Khaleq Abdul Ghaffar; Mohammad Awad Al Harbi; Abdul Daiem Abdul Raouf; Abdul Nabi
RashedAlShirazi;MahdiIbrahimAlQallaf)
2. Effectofharvestingandmethodsofpackagingandstorageonpostharvestlosses;(AhlaamIbrahimAlShareedah;NasserYaqoub;AbdulDaiemAbdulRaouf,HusseinAlQallaf,MahdiAl
Qallaf)
Thesepublications
available
in
Arabic
only
Bahrain
1. StudyoftheeffectoffertilizationbyOrganicandchemicalfertilizerontheproductivityof
KhalasCultivar;(AhmadAdamAhmadAlSaffi;SadeqEissaMansour;AbdulAzizMohammad)
2. Study on the effect of liquid pollination on the quantity and quality of Khalas cultivars,
(SadeqEissa
Mansour;
Ahmad
Al
Saffi;
Abdul
Aziz
Mohammad
Abdul
Karim)
ThesepublicationsavailableinArabiconly
EnglishPublication
1 Faunal Survey of Insects and Mites Associated with Date Palm in Kingdom of Bahrain
8/13/2019 Development of Date Palm
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4. DevelopmentofSustainableDatePalmProductionSystems intheGCCCountries(ActivitiesonIntegratedPestManagementandPlantProtection)
Annex2
A2.1 TrainingCoursesandWorkshopsconductedby(ICARDA)
1. AspecializedtrainingcourseonDNAMarkerTechnologyforCropImprovementwasheldinMuscat, Oman in the period of November 1830, 2005. It was organized in collaboration
with the Ministry of AgricultureSultanate of Oman,. Four international experts were
involvedinthistrainingprogramand18scientistsof(GCC)countrieshavebenefitedfromit
2. AtrainingcourseonDatepalm invitroculture:ApplicationsandProspectswasconductedat the datepalm research center,Nizwa,SultanateofOman in theperiod ofMay2630,
2007.
Twoexperts
were
involved
in
this
training
course
and
atotal
of
17
scientists
from
(GCC)countriesweredulytrained
3. FollowingtherecommendationsofthethirdSteeringCommitteemeetingofthisproject,aworkshoponDatepostharvesthandlingandProcessing was conducted in Dubai, UAE in
theperiodofDecember911,2007 incollaborationwiththeMinistryofEnvironmentand
Water (MoEW) of the United Arab Emirates. Four international experts were involved in
thisworkshopand14scientistsof(GCC)countriesweretrainedinthisarea
4. AworkshoponDatePalmIntegratedPestManagementwasorganizedincollaboration withtheMinistry of MunicipalitiesAffairs andAgriculture, was held at Manama, Kingdom of
Bahrain in the period of March 24 26, 2009. With the support of seven international
experts,14scientistsof(GCC)countriesweretrainedinthisarea
5. AdvancedbiotechnologycoursewithstatisticalanalysiswasorganizedincollaborationwiththeMinistryofAgriculture,Muscat,andSultanateofOmanintheperiodofMay913,2009.
Seven international experts were involved in this course with the participation of 17
scientistsof(GCC)countries
6. OnthebasisofrequisitionbyMinistryofAgriculture,AfghanistanandthekindapprovaloftheMinistryofAgricultureofOman,aspecializedshortcourseondatepalmwasorganized
forfourAfghaniscientistsincollaborationwiththeMinistryofAgricultureoftheSultanate
ofOmanintheperiodof1217June2009
7. One technician from biotechnology laboratory in Oman was supported to undergo atrainingsessiononLatestdevelopmentsinthegenomicresearchareasofdatepalmandthe
DNA markers used for date palm characterization in the biotechnology laboratories of
(ICARDA),Aleppo
8. TwoscientistsfromKuwaitweresentonatrainingcourseinbiotechnologyinOman,intheperiodofMarch25tillApril4,2010.
A2.2 ConferenceandSymposiumsponsorship
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A2.3 VisitsofProjectCoordinator
1. Date palm project coordinator visited California and Arizona to update the latestdevelopmentsindatepalmcultivationandpostharvesthandlingandprocessingofdatesin
the
period
of
January
11
19,
2009
2. The coordinator of the date palm Project, together with one scientist from OmanparticipatedintheSymposiumonRedPalmWeevilheldinItalyinMay1517,2010
3. To monitor the implementation of the recommendations made by Steering Committeemeetingsofdatepalmprojectamongtheconcerned(NARS),andtoassesstheprogressof
researchactivities,theprojectcoordinatorvisitedthesecentersseveraltimesin20072010
4. The coordinator of the date palm project dispensed several conferences and published anumberofpapers.
A2.4 ConsultancyServices
UponinvitationoftheArabAuthorityforAgriculturalinvestmentandDevelopmentandthekind
approvaloftheDirectorGeneralof(ICARDA),threeconsultancymissionswerecarriedoutfor
the Comoros to recommend the improvement of tissue culture laboratory, acquiring the
necessary equipment and supplies and offering suitable training for the technicians. Similar
supportwasalsoextendedtoSudan.
Annex3
ActivitiesbyCountry(20072010)
KingdomofBahrain
Bahrain isthe leadingcountry for the researchthemeofcropprotectionand integratedpest
management. Four research activities were set in the areas of crop management, crop
protection
and
IPM
and
biotechnology:
1. Theareaofcropmanagementseekstostudytheeffectofchemicalandorganicfertilizerson date palm growth and production and the effect of liquid pollination on date palm
qualityandquantity
2. TheareaofcropprotectionandIPMfocusesonthefaunalstudyoftheinsectsandpestsofdatepalm
3. Theareaofbiotechnologyfocusesonthedevelopmentofthegenomictoolsforgermplasmcharacterization
and
genetic
diversity
of
local
date
palm
varieties.
KingdomofSaudiArabia
Saudi Arabia is the second leading country for the research theme of crop protection and
integrated pest management. Seven research activities were set in the areas of crop
management crop protection and IPM post harvest techniques and biodiversity conservation
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Kuwait
Kuwait is the leading country for the research theme of crop management. A total of nine
researchactivitieswereset intheareasofcropmanagement,cropprotectionand IPM,post
harvest
and
the
biotechnology
as
follows:
1. Cropmanagementactivitiesseektostudytwoareasofresearch:irrigationandfertilization.Theirrigationcomponentstudiestheeffectofirrigationscheduleandthekindofmulching
ondatepalmgrowth,yieldandfruitqualityunderwaterscarcityconditions;effectofthree
irrigationsystemsonthegrowth,yieldandfruitquality,usingtreatedsewagewaterandthe
effectofplasticmulchingonweedcontrolusingdripirrigation.Thefertilizationcomponent
investigates the effect of fertilizer and its quantity effect of monthly applications of NPK
fertilizers
and
effect
of
foliar
applications
of
microelements
on
growth,
yield
and
fruit
quality
2. CropprotectionandIPMactivitiesstudythepestsanddiseasesofdatepalmthroughfieldsurveys
3. Postharvest handling and processing techniques study the effect of harvesting stage,packagingtechniquesandstorageconditionsonreducingthepostharvestlosses
4. TheareaofbiotechnologyseekstostudyinvitropropagationandgeneticdiversityQatar
QataristheleadingcountryinBiotechnology. Sevenresearchactivitiesweresetintheareasof
cropmanagement,andbiotechnologyasfollows:
1. Cropmanagementfocusesontheeffectoffruitthinningonfruitqualityandtheresponseofdatepalmtoirrigationwithtreatedsewagewater
2. Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniquesareastudiestheeffectofthreedifferentsolar
drying
techniques
on
scaling
of
dates
3. BiotechnologyactivitiesseektoestablishdatabaseondatepalmresearchUnitedArabEmirates
UAEistheleadingcountryinpostharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques.Atotalofseven
researchactivitieswereset intheareasofcropmanagement,cropprotectionand integrated
pestmanagement,andpostharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques:
1. Cropmanagementseekstoassessdatepalmwaterrequirementsusingdifferentirrigationsystems and study the economic return and environmental effect of organic farming on
datepalmtrees
2. CropprotectionandIPMstudiestheefficacyofdifferentpesticidesondustmiteinfestation3. Postharvest handling and processing techniques activities focus on the identification of
best drying system using solar energy; best harvesting stage for improved drying and
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SultanateofOman
OmanistheleadingcountryinBiotechnology.Thirteenresearchactivitiesweresetintheareas
of crop management, crop protection and IPM, postharvest handling and processing
techniques
and
biotechnology:
1. Cropmanagementprobesintotheeffectofpollengrainssource;femalereceptivityperiod;effectoffoliarapplicationonfruitset;variationsinfruitripeningduetoclimaticconditions
andpreandpostharvestapplicationofthegrowthregulatorEthrel(Ethephone);studieson
improvement of yield and fruit quality of date palm through pollen grain source a fruit
thinningandpreharvestapplicationofEthrel;effectofmulchingwithprunedleavesofdate
palmonirrigationwateravailability
2.
Crop
protection
and
IPM
aims
to
study
the
efficacy
of
different
pesticides
against
Lesser
DateMothandtosurveypestsnaturalenemies
3. Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniquesfocusontheproductionofcitricacidfromdates
4. Biotechnology seeks to develop genomic tools forgermplasm characterizationand assesstheabnormalitiesfoundintissueculturederiveddatepalms.
OverviewofResearchProgram
A6.A: Propagationandcropmanagement
Thiscategoryoftheresearchareaaimstoassessandadoptbestagromanagementpractices
for the date palm productivity, especially in the areas of tree propagation, irrigation,
fertilization, head management (male selection, pollination, dethroning, fruiting, thinning,
packaging, etc.) and mechanization of tree services with the aim to achieve the following
objectives:
1. Improvingdatepalmproductivityperunitofwaterandrationalizingtheuseoftheavailablewaterresourcestoensuresustainability
2. Determiningwaterandnutritional requirements fordifferent irrigationsystems,cultivars,environmentalconditions,soil types,qualities of irrigationwater (salineandsewage)and
withdifferentfertilizers
3. Improving date palm head practices and management for more productive trees withhigheryieldandbetterfruitqualityatharvest
4.
Developing
a
model
for
irrigation
and
fertilization
practices.
A6.B: CropprotectionandintegratedPestManagement(IPM)
This category aims to identify suitable method(s) to protect date palm trees from pests and
diseasesintheselectedregionsof(GCC)countriesinvolved.Theobjectivesare:
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A6.C: Postharvesthandlingandprocessingtechniques
Inordertoimprovethemarketingprocessingeneralandthequalityoffruitsinparticular,this
categoryhasthefollowingobjectives:
1. To identify suitable postharvest handling and processing techniques such as handlingmethods, packaging materials, storage conditions, transportation etc., as well as the
processingmethodsofdatefruits
2. Improve proper postharvest handling and processing techniques such as handling,packaging,storage,transportationetc.
3. Developnewprocessingtechniquesforvalueaddeddateproductsandbyproducts.A6.D: Biotechnologyandgermplasmconservation
ThiscategoryaimstoestablishDNAfingerprintsoflocaldatepalmcultivarsandgenomictools
for germplasm characterization, and also to assess the existing level of genetic variability
amongthegermplasmresourceof(GCC)countriesinvolved.Theobjectivesare:
1. Toidentify,classifyandDNAfingerprintlocaldatepalmvarieties2. Developgenomictoolsforgermplasmcharacterization3.
Assess
genetic
diversity
among
date
palm
cultivars
4. Assessabnormalitiesfoundinthetissueculturederivedfromdatepalms
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21
Annex4
ResearchActivitiescarriedoutamong(GCC)Countriesduringyear20072010
1. KingdomofBahrainResearchArea Activitiesundertaken
1. Cropmanagement1.Theeffectofchemicalandorganicfertilizerondatepalmgrowthandproduction
2.TheeffectofliquidpollinationondatesqualityandquantityintheKingdomofBahrain
2.Integratedpestmanagement FaunalsurveyofinsectsandmitesassociatedwithdatepalminKingdomofBahrain
3.Postharvesttechniques None
4. Biotechnology Development ofgenomictoolsforgermplasmcharacterizationandgeneticdiversityindatepalm
2. KingdomofSaudiArabia1.CropManagement
1.SelectionandevaluationofthemaledatepalmsusedforpollinationinAlAhssaoasis
2.Studyoftheeffectsofpreharvestholdingofirrigation waterondatepalmKhalasCV.fruitcracking
2.IntegratedPestManagement
1.Conductsurveyandassesstheinfestation levelbydustmitesinAlHasa
2.Evaluation oftheeffectofthreepesticidesonthedustmiteinfestation
3.Survey
of
lesser
date
moth
3.Postharvesttechniques SurveystudyofontheexistingdatespackagingcontainersinSaudiArabiaandtheiracceptance bytheconsumer
4.Biotechnology DNAextractionandfingerprinting of5selecteddatepalmcultivars
3. StateofKuwait1.CropManagement Irrigation:
1.Effectofthreeirrigationsystems(dripsystem bubblersystem floodssystem)ongrowth,yieldandfruitqualityofBarheevarietyusingtreatedsewage
water
2.Effectofblackplasticmulchingonweedcontrol,growthandyieldofBarheevarietyusingdripirrigation system
3.Effectofirrigationschedulesandkindofmulchingondatepalm(PhoenixdactyliferaL.)growth,productionandfruitqualityunderwaterscaresconditions
inAlShuhadaareaofKuwait
Fertilization:
1. Effectofthreekindsoffertilizerswiththreedifferentquantities ongrowth,yieldandfruitqualityofBarheevarietyusingdripirrigation2. Effectofmonthlyapplications offertilizersNPK(18:18:18)onthegrowth,yieldandqualityofBarheevarietyusingdripirrigation3. Effectoffoliarapplicationofmicroelementsongrowth,yieldandqualityofBarheevarietyusingdripirrigation
2.IntegratedPestManagement Surveyofpestsanddiseasesofdatepalm
3.Postharvesttechniques Effectofharvestingstage,packagingtechniquesandstorageonthereductionofpostharvestlosses
4.Biotechnology Assessmentofgeneticdiversityindatepalm
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Annex5
Meetings
Projectmonitoring
Committee
Meetings
Technical Coordinationand Steering CommitteeMeetings (TC and SC meetings) were conducted
regularly to monitor the progress of the project, to share the results and to make sure that the
activitiesundertakenarewithin thescopeoftheresearchstrategyadoptedby the (NARS)of the
participatingcountriesandeventuallyadoptanynecessarymeasures.Fromtheyear2005till2010,
sixsuchmeetingswereheldasfollows:
1. FirstmeetingsheldinAleppo,SyriainMay1819,20052. SecondmeetingsheldinMuscat,OmaninMarch2728,20063. ThirdmeetingsheldinMuscat,OmaninMarch1819,20074. FourthmeetingsheldinMuscat,OmaninMay1114,20085. Fifth meetingsheldinManama,BahraininJanuary1012,20106. SixthmeetingsheldinMuscatinFebruary68,2011.
Postharvestmeetingreport
RasAlKhaima,UAE,March2009
A.Participants
B.Program
C.Introduction
Allparticipants
expressed
their
full
satisfaction
with
the
meeting
which
gave
them
the
opportunity
toassesstheprogressachievedsofaronthisthemeineachcountry,sharetheresultsandexchange
theirexperiencesandotherrelatedinformation.Theywerealsopleasedwiththefactthattherewas
noworkduplicationamongtheconcernedNARS.
D.Presentations
UAE
1. Comparisonbetweenusingsolarenergyfordryingdatesunderandplastichousesandthe
automaticdrying
chamber
(with
controlled
temperature
and
relative
humidity).
2. Identification of thebestharvestingstage for improveddryingand marketingofBarhee,
KhalasandLuludatepalmcultivars.
3. Evaluation of the total cost, running cost and production capacity of the tested drying
methods.
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Futureactivities
Futureresearchwillfocusontheeffectofsolardryinginglasshousesonpestinfestationandquality
ofthedrieddates.
QATAR
Workplan
Theeffectofthreedifferentsolardryingtechniquesonscalingofdates(flakiness).
Resultsobtainedsofar
The work consisted of comparing direct sun drying with drying under plastic tunnels and locally
designed
plastic
chambers
with
internal
shelves,
to
be
used
at
the
growers
level.
The
effectiveness
ofthesechambers inshortingthedryingperiod(5daysonlyagainst12daysunderplastictunnels
and 1418 days fordirectsundrying)and reducing scalingwas demonstrated.Furthermore,dried
datesfromthechamberweremuchcleaner.
Futureactivities
Future work will concentrate on improving these chambers and studying the quality of the dried
fruits.
SULTANATEOFOMAN
Workplan
Productionofcitricacidfromdates
Resultsobtainedsofar
The main objectives of this work can be regarded as achieved. It was shown that the use of the
submergedtechniquegavebetterresultswhencomparedtothesurfacetechnique inreducingthe
fermentation period. Moreover, the researchers could identify citric acid successfully by applying
housedevelopedanalyticalmethod. However,delays inachievingtheseresultswereexperienced
duetothebreakdownofsomeequipmentandthelongtimerequiredfixingit.
Futureactivities
Forthcomingworkwillconcentrateon theeffectof thedatepalmgenotypeontheproductionof
citricacidaswellasontheattempttoproduceothervalueaddedproducts.
KUWAIT
Workplan
Theeffectofharvestingstage,packagingandstoragetechniquesonthereductionofpostharvest
losses.
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SAUDIARABIA
Workplan
SurveystudyontheexistingdatespackagingcontainersinSaudiArabiaandtheiracceptancebythe
consumer.
Resultsobtainedsofar
Appreciable progress has been made in terms of the existing dates packaging containers, their
labelingandthedegreeoftheiracceptancebytheconsumer.
Futureactivities
Future work will focus on the effect of packaging containers on the dates quality and on dates
microbialcontaminationsandinfestation.
Recommendations
Thedatepalmspecialistandprojectcoordinatoremphasizedtheneedfor:
1. Improvedslidequalityenablingeasyreading2. TheuseofEnglishlanguageforallwrittendocumentstoreachamuchlargeraudienceand
enablenonArabicspeakerstounderstandthepresentations.AsdecidedbytheSteering
Committee,the
oral
presentation
can
be
either
in
Arabic
or
English
3. Statisticalanalysisofthedatashouldbeprovidedwheneverapplicable.Inconclusion,alltheparticipantsagreedthat:
1. More efforts should be dedicated to the improvement of the dates to meet theinternationalexportstandardsparticularlyinindustrialcountries.
2. Seekalternativesforoptimaluseofthelowqualitydatesthroughtheproductionofvalueaddedproductsandbyproducts.
3. Usehighqualitydatessurplusfortheproductionofbabyfoodandhealthyfoodstuff.4. Increased capacity building of the participating NARS through workshops, symposia,
conferences,visits,andshorttermtraininginmoreadvancedlaboratories.
CropManagementMeetingReport
Kuwait,April,2009
A.Objectivesofthemeeting
1. Presenttheapprovedcropmanagementworkplanforeachcountry.
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SultanateofOman
a.ApprovedcropmanagementWorkplan
a.1.Studies
on
the
low
fruit
set
in
Zabad
Cultivar.
a.1.1.Effectofpollengrainssource.
a.1.2.Studiesonthefemalereceptivityperiod.
a.1.3.EffectofBoronfoliarapplicationonfruitset.
a.2.StudiesonthevariationofripeningdatesofNighaldatepalmcultivar.
a.2.1.Studiesontheclimaticconditions.
a.2.2.EffectofPreorPostharvestApplicationsofEthrel(Ethephone)
a.3. StudiesontheImprovementofYieldandFruitQualityofKhalascv.
a.3.1.Effectofpollengrainssource.
a.3.2.EffectofFruitThinning.
a.3.3.EffectofpreharvestapplicationofEthrel.
a.4.Effectofmulchingwith pruned datepalm leaveson irrigationwateravailability and
datepalmgrowth,yieldandfruitquality.
b.Obtainedresults
a.1.StudiesonthelowfruitsetinZabadCultivar.
a.1.1.Theresultsshowednoeffectofthedifferentpollengrainsourcesonfruitset.
Sincethemetaxenialeffectsarewellestablished,theseresultsmightbedueto
thefactthatthemalesusedwerefromthesameareaandmightbegenetically
veryclosetothefemaletrees.Theuseofmalesfromotherregionsorcountries
aswellastheuseofpollengrainfromotherphoenixspecies(sylvestris)might
bebeneficialforfuturework.
a.1.2.Studyonthereceptivityperiodofthefemaleflowers:Theworkwascarriedout
in1997by
Dr.
Issam
and
the
results
have
been
published.
a.1.3.Thestudyshowednoeffectofthreeboraxconcentrationsonfruitsetandfruit
qualityoftheZabadcultivar.
a.2.StudiesonthevariationofripeningdatesofNighaldatepalmcultivar.
a.2.1.Studies on the climatic conditions: The experiment could not be carried out
becauseweatherstationswerenotestablishedinthelocationsofthestudy.
a.2.2.Effect of Pre orpostharvestApplications of Ethrel (Ethephone): The results
showed
no
effect
of
the
three
concentrations
of
ethephone
on
the
fruit
ripening, shrinkinganddroppingbothforpreandpostharvestapplications.
a.3.StudiesontheImprovementofYieldandFruitQualityofKhalascv.
a.3.1.Effectofpollengrainssource:Significantdifferenceswerefoundbetweenthe2
locations:ThepollinationefficiencywasbetterintheInteriordryerregionthan
in the more humid Albatinah costal area However no significant differences
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showed a significant effect of ethephone on fruit ripening without any
shrinkageordrop.Noresultsconcerningtheyieldwerepresented.
a.4.Effectofmulchingonirrigationwateravailabilityanddatepalmgrowth,yieldandfruit
quality.
The
effects
of
mulching
with
pruned
leaves
and
plastic
were
compared.
However,becauseofthefailureofsomeequipment,theexperimentwasdelayed.
a.5.CharacterizationofDatepalmcultivarsGCCAtlas(Khalas,Fard,Khasab,Naghaland
Zabad). The tree, leaves, flowering, fruit, and seed characteristics will be used to
characterizethesefivecultivars.
c.Futureactivities
c.1.Selectionofbestmalesforpollination. Theworkwillbepursuedusingpalmmalesfrom
other
regions
or
countries
as
well
as
the
pollen
grain
from
other
phoenix
species
(sylvestris).
c.2.Pursuetheworkonmulching.
c.3.CharacterizationofthefiveselectedOmanidatepalmcultivars.
KingdomofSaudiArabia
a.Approvedworkplana.1.SelectionandevaluationofthemaledatepalmsusedforpollinationinAlAhssaoasis.
a.2.Study of the effects of preharvest holding of irrigation on date palm Khalas variety.
fruitcracking.
b.Obtainedresultsa.1.SelectionandevaluationofthemaledatepalmsusedforpollinationinAlAhssaoasis.
Thepreliminaryresultsclearlyshowtheeffectofthemalesonfruitlengthandweight.
However,
the
presentation
did
not
contain
any
statistical
analysis
as
well
as
the
conclusionsummarizingthemainfindings.Theseissuesshouldbeincludedinthefinal
reporttostrengthentheresearch.
a.2.StudyofwaterdeficitondatepalmKhalasvarietyfruitcracking
Takingintoconsiderationthecommentsmadeduringthe4thTechnicalCommitteeand
SteeringCommitteemeetingsthecolleagues,rightlychangedtheexperimentaldesign.
Thus, insteadofwithholding irrigationjustbeforeharvest,theyappliedspecificwater
quantities throughout the year (100%, 50%, 33%, and 25% of commonly used
quantities).
Again,
the
presentation
did
not
show
any
statistical
analysis
and
conclusions.Theresultsclearlyindicatedthatthewaterdeficitdidnothaveanyeffect
onfruitcracking.TheseresultsareinagreementwiththoseobtainedintheUSAwhere
datecrackingseemtoberelatedtosoiltypeand/orfertility.
c.Activitiesfor200920101 S l i f h l lli b f h hi h d l l il bl i
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from the use of botanically related males to the females used in the experiment. If
thesecommentsaretakenintoconsideration,greatandusefulresultscanbeexpected
fromthisresearch.
2.Fruit
cracking:
Based
on
the
obtained
results
in
the
Kingdom
of
Saudi
Arabia
and
the
USA,thestudyshouldberedesignedtoaddresstheeffectofsoiltexture,fertilityand
fertilizersondatescracking.
StateofQatar
a.ApprovedCropmanagementworkplan
1.
The
effect
of
fruit
thinning
on
the
fruit
quality
of
Khalas
variety.
2. Responseofdatepalmtoirrigationwithtreatedsewagewater.
b.Obtainedresults
b.1.The effect of fruit thinning on the fruit quality of Khalas variety. Fruit thinning
improved both the yield and other fruit characteristics. The work was extended to
includeBarheebutnoresultswereobtainedyetwiththisvariety.
b.2.Response of date palm to irrigation with treated sewage water: The work was
postponeduntiltheworkontheconnectiontothewatersourceandtheinstallationof
theirrigation
system
is
over
(Trial
expected
to
start
in
September
2009).
c.Activitiesfor20092010
c.1.Fruitthinning
The present experiment will be repeated for another year and statistical analysis
carriedout.Theworkwillbeextendedtoincludeothervarieties.Growthregulators
willalsobetestedasthinningagent.
KingdomofBahrain
a.ApprovedCropmanagementworkplan
a.1.Theeffectofchemicalandorganicfertilizerondatepalmgrowthandproductioninthe
KingdomofBahrain.
a.2.TheeffectofliquidpollinationondatesqualityandquantityintheKingdomofBahrain.
b.Obtainedresults
b.1.Theeffect
of
chemical
and
organic
fertilizer
on
date
palm
growth
and
production
in
the
Kingdom of Bahrain. No significant statistical differences were found between the
treatments. However, thismightbe due tothewayorganic fertilizerwasapplied (in
holeswithoutmixingwithsoil)
b.2.The effect of liquid pollination on dates' quality and quantity in the Kingdom of
Bahrain No significant statistical differences were observed between traditional hand
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c.Activitiesfor20092010
c.1.Liquidpollination
1.Repeat the experiment to confirm the results and extend the work to othervarieties.
2.Fruitchemicalanalysiscarriedoutprovidedthenecessaryequipmentispurchased.3.Testtheefficacyofothersprayingequipment.4.Includeboroninthesolutiontoenhancepollengermination.5.Carrythesameexperimentinfarmersorchards.
c.2.Fertilization.
Repeat the same experiment with organic fertilizers mixed to soil before the pre
irrigationand
spread
all
around
the
trees.
c.3.Characterizationofthefiveselectedcultivars.
StateoftheUnitedArabEmirates
a.ApprovedCropmanagementworkplan:Assessmentofdatepalmwaterrequirementsusing
differentirrigationsystems
b.
Obtained
results.
b.1.Assessmentofdatepalmwaterrequirementsusingdifferentirrigationsystems.
The presentation was prepared by Eng. Mohamed Rashid AlNaqbi, who is not a
member of the research team and who had just come back from Australia. The
objectiveoftheresearchwasnotclear:If,asthetitleindicates,themainobjectiveisto
assess the water requirements of the date palm under different irrigation systems,
thenadulttrees(12yearsoldandabove)shouldhavebeenusedinsteadofthreeyear
old trees. If, as the presenter claimed, the objective is to determine the water
requirements
of
the
date
palm
at
different
stages
of
their
development,
the
experimentaldesignshouldbechangedtoincludetrees1,2,3,..,12yearsofage.The
issuecouldnotbeclarifiedbythespeakerwhowasaskedtocheckwiththeresearch
teamandsubmitanewreport.Furthermorenoclearresponsewasprovidedastohow
theappliedwateramountin200607,200708and200809wasobtainedandnoclear
datawasshown.
b.2.EconomicReturnandEnvironmentaleffectoforganicfarmingondatepalmtrees.
1.Although the experiment started in November 2007, it was not included in thesubmittedworkplanfortheUAE.
2.Thetitle ismisleading: In fact,noeconomicstudieswerecarriedouttoestablishtheeconomicalreturn,noorganicfarmingwasdoneandnoenvironmentaleffects
wereassessed.Itisaverysimplefertilizationexperiment.
3 h i i l d i d h d l l f i d i
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c.Activitiesfor20092010
c.1.Assessmentofdatepalmwaterrequirementsusingdifferentirrigationsystems.Repeat
theexperimenttakingintoconsiderationtheabovementionedremarks.
c.2.Fertilization:Theexperimentshouldberedesignediftobepursued.
StateofKuwait
a.ApprovedCropmanagementworkplana.1.Irrigation
a.1.1.Effectof
irrigation
schedules
and
kind
of
mulching
on
date
palm
(phoenix
dactylifera L.) growth, production and fruit quality under water scares
conditionsinAlShuhadaareaofKuwait
a.1.2.Effectofthreeirrigationsystems(dripsystembubblersystemfloodssystem)
ongrowth,yieldandfruitqualityofBarheevarietyusingtreatedsewagewater
a.1.3.Effectofblackplasticmulchingonweed control,growthand yieldofBarhee
varietyusingdripirrigationsystem.
a.2.Fertilization
a.2.1.Effect of three kinds of fertilizers, with three different quantities on growth,
yieldandfruitqualityofBarheevarietyusingdripirrigation
a.2.2.EffectofmonthlyapplicationoffertilizersNPK(18:18:18)onthegrowth,yield
andqualityofBarheevarietyusingdripirrigation
a.2.3.Effect of foliar application of microelements on growth, yield and quality of
Barheevarietyusingdripirrigation
b.Obtained
results
The combined effect of levels and source of chemical fertilizers on theproductivityofdatepalm.
1 Studying theeffectofdifferent levelsof fertilizeron thegrowthandyieldofdatepalm.
2 Studyingtheeffectofsourceofchemicalfertilizersontheproductivityofdate
palm.
Effectofirrigationschedulesandmulchingongrowthandfruityieldofdatepalm.1 To find out the effect of irrigation schedules on the growth fruit yield and
qualityofdatepalm.
2 To evaluate the influence ofwater conservation technique that is the use of
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Comments:
1. Nodatawaspresentedforthefertilizationexperiments.2. Noconclusionwaspresented.3. Nostatisticalanalysisfortheirrigationexperiments.4. Aretheresultsshowninthetableinslide19forirrigationorfertilization?5. Thetitleforthetableinslide24ismissing.
c.Activitiesfor2009.2010
1. Pursuetheexperimentsabovetakingintoconsiderationtheabovecomments.2. Starttheotherexperimentsincludedinthesubmittedworkplan.3. Undertake experiment on heavy metals that might come from the treated sewage
water.
E.Concludingcomments
Take into consideration the comments made by the participants in submitting finalreport.
Alltheparticipantsunderlinedtheimportanceofthemeetinganditsbenefits. Thedatepalmknowledgebankprojectwasdebatedandalltheparticipantsexpressed
itsimportance.
There is a need to improve the quality of the presentations and in using Englishlanguage.
Thedatepalmspecialistsuggestedthatinthefuturetheresearchshouldconcentrateonnewtrendssuchas:
1. Mechanicalpollinationusingliquidsolution.2. Chemicalthinning.3. Higherplantingdensities.4. Foliarapplicationoffertilizers.5. Organicfarming.6. Processingofdatesfortheproductionofhighvalueproducts.7. Growdatesfornewpurposessuchasproductionofantioxidants.
IPMMeetingReport
Manama,KingdomofBahrain,March2009
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UAE
Theme: StudytheefficacyofdifferentpesticidesonDustmiteinfestation.
Major
results:
Among
the
tested
pesticides,
the
most
effective
ones
against
the
Dust
mites
wereidentified.
FutureActivity: Theexperimentwillberepeatedanotherseasonforconfirmationofthe
resultsandtestfivenewpesticides.
KSA
Theme1: ConductsurveyandassesstheinfestationlevelbydustmitesinAlHasa
Majorresults:
Two
dust
mite
species
were
found:
Oligonychus
afrasiatcus
Mcg
and
Tetranychussp.
FutureActivity: Continuesurveyforanotheryearanddeterminewhichofthetwodustmite
speciesispredominant.
Theme2: Evaluationoftheeffectofthreepesticidesonthedustmiteinfestation.
Results: Uptonow,noconcreteresultswereobtained.
Activitiesfor20092010:TheexpertssuggestedtheuseofRCBDwithfourreplicationsinstead
of
three
planned
by
the
investigators.
Theme3: SurveyofLesserDateMoth.
Majorresults:
1. Alltheinsectslifecyclestageswerestudiedinthelaboratory.2. Thedegreeoffieldinfestationvariedbetweenregionsfrom5to90%.3. Trapstogetnaturalenemieswereinstalledinthefield.4. Observationsonsomenaturalenemiesweremade,buttheestimationofthedegreeof
parasitismneedstobecarriedout.
5. It isworthmentioningthata localnaturalenemyofthedatepalmborerwasrecordedforthefirsttimeandidentifiedbytheBritishMuseumofNaturalHistory.
Activitiesfor20092010:
1. Useoflighttrapstoassesstheimportanceanddistributionoftheinsectanddeterminethenumberofitsgenerations.
2. Localizethesitesoftheinsectdormancy(?).3. Assesstheefficacyof2biologicalagentsforthecontroloftheinsect.4. Searchforthenaturalenemiesoftheinsectwheneverpresent.
Kuwait
Theme: Survey of pests and diseases of date palm.
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Qatar
Uptonow,theStateofQatardidnotcarryoutanyexperimenton IPM.Theywillstarttheir
activitiesinthisfieldin2010andtheyareplanningtoundertakethefollowing:
Theme1:
Survey
study
for
the
identification
of
the
major
pests
and
diseases
in
Qatar
andtheirnaturalenemies.
Theme2: Ecologicalstudiesofmajorpests.
Theme3: DevelopmentofDataBaseforpestsanddiseasesinQatar.
Oman
Theme
1:
Efficacy
of
different
pesticides
against
lesser
date
moth.
Majorresults: Five environment friendly insecticides have been evaluated for second
season to confirm their efficacy against lesser date moth
(Batrachedraamydraula Meyrick). The results obtained in 2008 indicated
thatatleastthreepesticidesshowedagoodlevelofefficacy.However,due
to thelatestageinfestationatthetimeoftrial,theseresultswerenotin
agreementwiththose obtainedin2007.
FutureActivity: Thisexperimentwillbe repeatedanotherseasonbutatanearlierstageof
infestationto
confirmation
the
results
Theme2: Surveyofnaturalenemies.
Majorresults: Fourparasitoidandthreepredatorspeciesfound.
FutureActivities:
1. ContinuethesurveyofnaturalenemiesofB.amydraulad.2. EvaluatingtheefficiencyofGoniozussp.incontrollingthepest.3. SusceptibilityofdifferentvarietiesofdatepalmtotheB.amydrauladinfestation.4. StudythepossibilityofmassrearingtheLDMlarvalparasitoidanditsfieldrelease.5. IdentificationofsexpheromonefortheLDM.
Bahrain
Theme: FaunalSurveyofInsectsandMitesAssociatedwithDatePalminKingdomof
Bahrain.
Majorresults:
1. 184speciesrepresentingnineorderswerecollectedusinglighttraps.2. 74speciesrepresentingnineordersusingwerecollectedinPitfallTraps.3. Severalnaturalenemies(predators,entomopathogenicfungi)ofthedatepalmpests
havebeenfound.
Future Activities
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Itisworthmentioningthattheparticipantsvisitedthelaboratorythatwasequippedbytheprojects
fundsandwereverypleasedwiththegreatjobcarriedout inBahrainunderthe leadershipofDr.
AbdulAzizAbdulKareem.
BiotechnologyMeetingReport
Rumais,SultanateofOman,2009
A.Agendaofthemeeting:
B.Participants:
C.Objectivesofthemeeting
1. Topresenttheapprovedbiotechnologyworkplanforeachcountry.
2. Tosharetheundertakenexperimentsandtheresultsobtainedsofar.
3. Todiscusstheplannedactivitiesfor20092010.
D.Countryreports
The
major
activities
which
were
approved
were
to
fingerprint
all
the
major
date
palm
varieties
in
the
Gulfcountriesandtoassesstheamountofvariationbetweenandwithinvarieties.OmanandQatar
are the lead countries for biotechnology with an annual budget of US$ 40,000.00 each while the
othercountriesreceiveUS$17,000.00annually.
SinceonlyOmanhadafunctionallaboratory,itwasagreedthatthecountrieswouldextracttheDNA
of their selected five date palm varieties and sent it to Oman for analysis. The countries would
meanwhileworktodeveloptheirownfacilities.
KingdomofSaudiArabia
a. Approvedworkplan:DNAextractionandfingerprintingoffiveselecteddatepalmcultivars.
b. Presentation and obtained results by Eng.Hussain Buawais: Fingerprinting of 25 date
palm cultivars in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia including the study of the Intravarietal
variationinvegetativelypropagateddatepalmanddocumentingthegeneticresourcesof
date palm cultivars in an Atlas. The main objectives were to test the different DNA
extractionprotocols
including
the
use
of
BioRobot
in
Saudi
Arabia
and
send
the
samples
to
Oman for analysis. Samples include the main cultivars grown in different regions of the
Kingdom.TheextractedDNAwassenttoOmanforanalysisandiswaitingfortheresults.
The speaker also presented the list of equipment purchased by the date palm project
fundssuchastheQIAcelsystemforDNAanalysis.Thisisagelelectrophoresissystemthat
h l b f l h f h l d
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KingdomofBahrain
a. Approvedworkplan: Development of genomic tools for germplasm characterization and
geneticdiversityindatepalmwiththemainobjectivesbeing:
1. CharacterizationofthedatepalmcultivarsinthekingdomofBahrain.2. Identification and documentation of the genetic differences between Bahraini
cultivarsusingmolecularanalysis.
3. Studyingthegeneticdiversitybetweenandwithincultivars.4. Documentation of the germplasm characterization and its genetic diversity in the
ATLASfortheGCCdatepalmcultivars.
b.
Presentation
and
progress
by
Eng.
Amani
Abu
Edrees.
DNA was extracted from five Bahraini cultivars from 10 different regions using and
comparingDNeasyPlantMaxiKit(Qiagen)andCTABDNAExtractionMethods.TheCTAB
procedure provided better results. The samples were sent to Oman but no results were
received.
c.Plannedactivitiesfor20092010:
1. DNAextraction from fivenewcultivarswith10replicationswillbedoneusingtheCTABProtocolandsenttoOmanforanalysis.
2. Whiletechnicalexpertise,athermocyclerandaverticalelectrophoresissystemareavailable intheUniversityofBahrain, inthe longrunviable laboratoriesshouldbe
establishedwithintheMinistryofMunicipalitiesandAgriculturalAffairs.Sinceonly
about US$ 4000 were spent from the biannual budget of US$ 34.000. These
allocated funds should be spent to supply the laboratory with the essential
equipmentsrequiredforinvitrocultureandmolecularexperimentalstudies.
The speaker also raised thecommunication problemswithboth theNationalcoordinatorand the
technicalCoordinator.
StateofKuwait
a. Submittedworkplan:
1.InvitropropagationofelitedatepalmvarietieslikeBarhee.2.Assessmentofgeneticdiversityindatepalm.
b. PresentationbyEng.ShaimaaAlKhabbaz: Documentation of genetic resources of date
palminanatlas.DNAsamplesoffourcultivarsfrom10differentlocationswereextracted
usingMaxikitsfromQiagenandsenttoOman.TheDNAextractionwascarriedoutatKISR.
However, the quality of DNA was bad and the extraction had to be redone in Oman.
Kuwait is still waiting to receive the results from Oman
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3.Establish a well equipped laboratory with all the necessary equipments forbiotechnology.
StateofUnitedArabEmirates
a. Approvedworkplan:Noactivitieswereplannedinbiotechnologybecausetheirlaboratory
was being used by AlRajhi Company from Saudi Arabia following the agreement signed
betweentheMinistryofEnvironmentandWateroftheUAEandthecompanytotransfer
theorganogenesistechniquefortheproductionofdatepalmvitroplants.
b. Activitiesundertaken:DNAwasextractedfrom fiveEmiratiscultivarsandsenttoOman.
However,
the
quality
was
bad
and
the
scientists
from
UAE
and
Oman
agreed
that
the
DNA
willbereextractedinOman.
c. Plansfor20092010:NewattempttoextracttheDNAinOmanwillbedone.
StateofQatar
a. SubmittedplanforGermplasmconservation:Formationofaworkinggroupwiththe
purposeofacquiringtherequiredinformationfortheproductionofDATEPALMATLAS.
b.Achievements:
It
was
not
clear
what
has
been
achieved
in
Qatar.
They
are
still
developing
theirownbiotechnologycenterandarewaitingtohavefunctionalfacilities. Dr.Khaled
MabroukpresentedapublicationbyDr.Talaatstudyingthediversityof15Qatardatepalm
cultivarswithmicrosatelliteprimers.
c. Futureplans:Ifthelaboratorieswillbecomefunctionalinthenext34months(equipment
hasbeenordered)DNAwillbeextractedandeithersenttoOmanorprocessedinhouse.
However,theneedtoclarifytheamountoftheavailablefundswiththenational
coordinatorandtoclearlyassignresponsibilities,wereemphasized.
SultanateofOman
a.Approvedworkplan
Developmentofgenomictoolsforgermplasmcharacterizationindatepalmwiththe
objectivesof:
1. TestingandevaluatingthebestAFLPandmicro satelliteprimercombinationsfor
cultivars
fingerprinting
(Oman).
2. UsingAFLP fingerprintingtechniqueandtheexistingmicro satellitemarkersonfiveGCCcultivars.
3. Startmappingoridentifyingmolecularmarkerslinkedtotraitsofinterest(sexidentification).
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b. PresentationbyDr. IshaqAlRuqaishi:UsetheBestMicrosatellitePrimerCombinationsonGCCDatePalmCultivars forFingerprintingusing theDNA samples fromOmanand
theotherwiththemainobjectivesbeing:
1. Developmentofgenomictoolsforgermplasmcharacterizationindatepalm.2. Assessmentofgeneticdiversityindatepalm.
DNA has been extracted (with DNeasy kit from Qiagen) from five varieties (with 10 replications).
From33availableprimers fordatepalm,20hadbeentestedonOmanicultivarsandanalyzedon
CEQ8000geneticanalyzer(BeckmanCoulter).Datageneratedonthesequencerhasbeenanalyses
withNTSYSprogram.DatawaspresentedonusingfourSSRprimersondatepalmDNAfromseveral
different countries (Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain). Clustering analysis has shown that major
varieties
such
as
Khalas
from
Oman,
Saudi
Arabia
and
Bahrain,
cluster
together,
even
though
substantialvariationwithinthevarietywasrevealed.
Theachievementsmadesofarweresummarizedasfollows:
1. SSR primer combinations were testedand evaluated for fingerprintingofdatepalmcultivars(Oman,SaudiArabia,BahrainandKuwait).
2. Out of 33 primers were selected, 20 were tested for further analysis based on theintensityofthebands.
3. Allelic size of each microsatellite primer combination of date palm cultivars wereobservedandrecordedaspresent(1)orabsent(0).
c.FutureActivities:
1. ReceiveremainingDNAsamplesfromGCCcountriesandanalyzeusing30SSRprimers.2. ScoringtheamplificationproductsonCEQ8000DNAanalyzer.3. Datacollection.4. Dataanalysis.
Someinconsistencies
need
to
be
clarified:
In
the
presentation,
the
DNA
samples
from
the
UAE
were
includedintheanalysiswhileinthemeetingitwasclearlysaidthatsuchsampleswerenotgoodand
itwasagreedthattheextractionwillbedoneinOmaninthenearfuture.
Somemajordifficultieshavearisenregardingthecostoftheanalysis.Omanhassuggestedthateach
of the other countries should contribute US$14.212.00 to cover the cost of the primers and PCR
analysis for the 50 samples with 30 SSRs, while they would cover the cost of the analysis on the
sequencer in the amount of US$ 3.986.00. The countries could buy their own consumables and
bring
them
to
Oman
while
they
also
would
help
to
do
the
analysis.
Some
of
the
countries
have
objectedtothis.IftheyweretopayUS$14.212.00forthechemicals,notmuchwillbe leftforthe
establishmentofthebiotechnologyfacilitiesintheirowncountries.
ICARDAobservations: the laboratory inRumais, Omanhas established the infrastructure forDNA
analysis However scientists seem to rely heavily on kits for all steps in order to standardize the
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thecountrieswanttodotheirownanalysisandthis isnotcorrectsince itwasdecidedthatallthe
analysiswillbecarriedoutinOmanwherethepurchasedsequencerhasbeeninstalled.
ICARDA recommendations: the laboratory in Rumais can optimize some operations to reduce
overallcostwithoutcompromisingthequalitythrough:
a.Testing all the 33 primers (unlabeled) on six diverse date palm varieties. Based on theresults it should be possible to identify sets of three primers that could be analyzed
together.Theidealsituationwouldbetohave10setsofthreeprimers.Theseprimerscould
then be ordered and labeled. By combining and analyzing the three SSRs together, the
runningcostwillbereducedsubstantially(upto60%).
b.Checkingwhetherornottheprimerscouldbemultiplexed.Thismightnotwork forall10poolsbutformostofthem.Thiswillrequiretimeandexpertiseforoptimization.Ifall10sets
of three primers could be multiplexed it would again reduce the cost for PCR analysis
substantially(upto60%).
c.Thepotentialoftheautomaticsequencerforcombinedrunsandanalysishasnotbeenfullyutilized. While it is possible with todays software to analyze sequenceroutputs for allele
sizes(inbp),currentresultsarebeingconvertedtobinarydata(10)withsubstantialamount
ofinformationlostforthedataanalysisintheconversionprocess.
d.The suggested amount of labeled primer used should be checked in the laboratory forpossiblereductiontosavecost.InourlaboratoryatICARDA,labeledprimersarediluted10
timestheamountsuggestedbythesupplier.Thiswaywecanperformabout2000reactions
withonelabeledprimer.
FifthTechnical
Coordination
and
Steering
Committee
Meetings'
Report
Bahrain,January,2010
Problemsolvingresearch
Theleadingroleforeachthematicareaofproblemsolvingresearchwasidentifiedamongsix(GCC)
countries
and
the
first
project
report
was
submitted
during
the
fifth
Technical
Coordination
and
Steering Committee Meetings of the Project on the Development of Sustainable Date Palm
Production Systems in the (GCC) Countries of the Arabian Peninsula meetings held at Bahrain in
January1012,2010.
L di i i bl l i R h M j Th
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40
9.EffectofPostharvestapplicationofEthrelon
Nighal
dates
ripening
and
quality
OmanSignificanteffectsofethephonetreatmentsonlyin
respectto
fruit
ripening
Tobecontinued
Resultscanbetransferredand
verifiedatfarmlevelbothin
Omanand
other
(GCC)
countries.
10. Effectofsourceofpollengrainsonfruitset,ripeningtimeandfruitqualityof
KhlasCV
OmanTheeffectofthesourceofpollengrainsonfruit
setbeingtestedatfarmlevelTobecontinued
Resultscanbetransferredand
verifiedatfarmlevelbothin
other(GCC)countries
11. EffectoffruitthinningonthefruitqualityofKhalasCV
Qatar,OmanThinningtoimproveventilationprovedvery
effectiveandresultsarebeingtransferredTobecontinued
Resultscanbetransferredand
verifiedatfarmlevelbothin
other(GCC)countries
12. Effectofthreeirrigationsystems(dripsystembubblersystemfloods
system)ongrowth,yieldandfruitquality
ofdate
palm
varieties
using
treated
sewagewater
Kuwait
UAE
Bubblersseemtobethebestirrigationsystemfor
the
date
palm
Tobecontinued
Resultscanbetransferredand
verifiedatfarmlevelbothin
other(GCC)
countries
13. EconomicReturnandEnvironmentaleffectoforganicfarmingon
datepalmtrees
UAE Underinvestigation Tobecontinued
A4.B Crop Protection and Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
ActivitiesCarriedoutYear2010 Concernedcountries TaskAccomplished/MajorAchievementsWorkplan
Year2011 Comments
1. Efficacyofdifferentpesticidesagainstlesserdatemoth
Oman
1.Twopesticides
were
found
effective
in
reducing
fruitinfestation:Trebon20%ECandKingbo
0.6%SL
Tobecontinued
2. SurveyofnaturalenemiesforLDM Oman
SomenaturalenemiesforthecontrolofLDMwere
identifiedandtheirevaluationisunderway;
SurveyforadditionalnaturalenemiesofLDMis
alsobeingcarriedout
Tobecontinued
3. Surveyofpestsanddiseases,ecological
studiesandestablishmentofadatabaseQatar Noactivitycarriedout
1.Surveystudyforthe
identificationofthe
majorpestsand
diseasesin
Qatar
and
theirnaturalenemies.
2.Ecologicalstudiesof
majorpests.
3.Developmentof
Databaseforpestsand
diseasesinQatar
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41
4. Surveyofmaininsectpestsanddiseasesaffectingdatepalm
Kuwait
KSA
1.Morethan305pestspeciesrepresenting22
generawereidentifiedinBahrain,Kuwaitand
KSA;Seventeen
predators
were
found
to
be
effectivecontrol againstmajorpestLDM
2.Twobiopesticideswerefoundeffectivein
controllinginfestationbyborersandmites
(KingboandAgri2000)
Tobecontinued
5.Surveyandassesstheinfestationlevelby
dustmiteinAlHassa. KSATwodustmitespecieswerefound:Oligonychus
afrasiatcusandTetranychussppTobecontinued
6.Evaluationoftheeffectofthreepesticides
onthe
dust
mite
infestation
KSA
OnebotanicalpesticideBaicaoNo.1(0.36%
Matrine)gave
agood
level
of
control
against
dust
mite;Thebiopesticide(Spinosad)gaveagoodlevel
ofcontrolagainstLDM.
Tobe
continued
7.FaunalSurveyofInsectsandMites
Associatedwithdatepalmusingpitfalltraps Bahrain
Fromlighttraps:184speciesrepresentingnine
orderswereidentifiedfromlighttraps;74species
representingnineorderswerefoundinpitfalltraps
1.Shippingspecimens'for
identification
2.Preparingdistribution
map formajordate
palmpests
3.Preparingprofilesof
majordatepalm pests
8.Evaluationofbiopesticidesforthecontrol
ofdustmiteUAE
Twobio
pesticides
were
found
effective
in
controllinginfestationbyborersandmitesand
theywillbetestedintheother(GCC)countries;
ThebiopesticideBaicaoNo.1(0.36%Matrine)gave
agoodlevelofcontrolagainstdustmites.
Testmorebiopesticides
forthecontrolofdust
mite
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43
A4.D Biotechnology
Activities Carried out Year 2010 Concerned countries Task Accomplished/Major Achievements Workplan Year 2011 Comments
1.Development of genomic tools forgermplasm characterization and genetic
diversity in date palm
UAE,
KSA, KuwaitBahrain
Oman, Qatar
Finger printing of local date palm cultivars carried
out and their genetic diversity level established.Evaluation of newly developed SSR marker are
underway
UAE samples need to begenotyped, Qatar will
genotype their samples
with the same SSRs.
Genotyping will becompleted for five
samples per country with
replications. Training
will be provided for(GCC) scientist in the
Oman facilities
Should be continue
2.Development of infrastructure for genomicanalysis
UAE,KSA, Kuwait
Oman
Qatar
1. Facilities have been established and/or upgradedin Saudi Arabia and Qatar
2. Facilities for DNA extraction were established in
Kuwait, Bahrain and UAE
To be continued
3.Characterization of abnormalities related totissue-culture-derived palms Oman
12 samples derived from tissue culture from thecultivar KhalasADhahra and their mother were
analyzed with 20 SSR markers, 315 alleles were
detected but no variation found among in-vitro
plants
More samples from
(GCC) countries to be
analyzed
4. Publication of Genome sequence ofdate palm by Cornell/Qatar publication
QatarDeveloped 1000 SSR markers from the sequence
and these were published in 2010
To be continued by
utilizing the developed
markers in the genetic
mapping and geneticdiversity analysis of date
palm