Date Palm A Symbol Of UAE Heritage, Rich Source Of Nutrition

KUALA LUMPUR, May 8 (Bernama) -- The date palm tree has played a vital role as a key source of food and sustenance throughout the history of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The tree forms an important part of the daily life of Emirati people, as they use its fruits for food, its trunk for building homes and its fronds, leaves and fibers for traditional handicrafts. According to an article by the Emirates News Agency on May 7, the UAE placed great importance on agricultural development, particularly in date palm. This is evident in the continued expansion in agricultural resources and investments, the growth in the number of palm trees, and the increase in the size and variety of date projects. The extensive use of modern technologies and in the initiatives undertaken in the areas of manufacturing and marketing of date fruits showed further evidence of its importance to the UAE. As a date-growing country, the UAE boasts of having a large number of dates, date farms and high-quality species and products. It said the special attention given to date palm was also evident through the establishment of the Date Palm Tissue Culture Laboratory (DPTCL) in the UAE University in 1989 to realise agricultural development in date palm cultivation. Founded by Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the DPTCL is also internationally recognised as one of the major commercial date palm mass propagation units and uses the application of tissue culture techniques for date palm, also called in vitro propagation. In 1993, a large state-of-the-art centre and laboratory for tissue culture techniques was established to propagate selected date palm seedlings and offshoots. “The DPTCL has the capacity to propagate 40,000 to 50,000 seedlings each year, and that is showcased and marketed in local and international exhibitions. Major export markets for these UAE high-quality seedlings and varieties include Egypt, Jordan, Iraq, Thailand, India, Saudi Arabia and Oman,” the article said. Meanwhile, quoting DPTCL Assistant Director of Development Dr Allen Lou Mansour, Emirates News Agency said the facility uses Organogenesis – a protocol for date palm multiplication – to produce high-quality tissue date offshoots. Organogenesis is one of the most advanced scientific techniques to produce true-to-type to the mother and diseases and pests-free date palm varieties and offshoots, he added. Mansour said the DPTCL is working with the Khalifa Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology to conduct a series of researches to produce new red palm weevil-resistant tissue offshoots and high salinity and drought-tolerance date offshoots. “The DPTCL seeks to become a leading international centre for propagation and development of dates and to establish a model mother date palm farm to be the key genetic reference for most date species in the Arabian Gulf and the world. “It added that a plan of action for this project will be put in place through partnerships with a number of research centres and academic institutions,” it added. -- BERNAMA