Comparison between traditional method [offshoots] and tissue cultures for the evaluation of some physical and chemical composition and nutritive value of some Egyptian dry-date cultivars grown at Aswan

This study was carried out to hold a comparison between dates obtained from traditional culture palms as known over the centuries [off shoots ], and their fruits of tissue culture palms as a modern biotechnology which may provide unprecedented opportunities to improve quality parameter and agricultural productivity. Three dry date cultivars namely; Gondaila, Bartamuda and Sakkoti, grown at Aswan Governorate, Egypt, during 2008/2009 season, were assessed for their some physico-chemical characteristics, mineral elements, sugar fractions and amino acids. Generally, results indicated that tissue culture dates gave the height values of fruit weight except Sakkoti cultivar, pulp/fruit percentage, moisture, reducing sugars, total sugars, potassium, magnesium, cobalt, lead and copper. While traditional culture dates were the superiority in crude fiber, total soluble solids, iron, sodium, manganese and phosphorus. Moreover, both the sugar fractions and the amino acid contents were assessed by HPLC technique. The results revealed that tissue culture dates had the highest percentages in glucose and fructose. On opposite, traditional culture dates were the superiority in sucrose than it's of tissue culture. The flesh of the tested date cultivars contain many amino acids. Cysteine, histidine, alanine, glycine and glutamic acid were determined. There were variations between traditional dry date cultivars and tissue cultures ones in amino acid contents. Overall, significant differences [at 5 % level] in most measured attributes were found between traditional culture dates and tissue ones as propagation method, genotype and interaction between them. So, production of tissue culture date cultivars should be extended at Aswan Governorate and other successive production areas due to short life cycle after plantation (3-y-old) produce dates with high quality?

Effect of sucrose and abscisic acid on in vitro growth and development of date palm during rooting stage

A typical somatic embryogenesis protocol for date palm involves a series of consecutive stages beginning with somatic embryo induction, maturation, germination and ending with rooting stage. One of the main problems of in vitro propagation is acclimatization of derived plantlets. Rooting and subsequently acclimatization stages were considered the most important stages in the commercial scale. This study was carried out to overcome the problems through rooting stage. Shootlets [5-7 cm in length] of date palm cv. Bartamuda were cultured on rooting MS medium [three quarters or half strength] supplemented with ABA [0.0, 0.25, 0.50, and 1.0mg /l], sucrose [15, 30 and 45 g/l] to study their effects on root number, root length, length of plantlets, growth vigor, plantlet and root thickness. This study showed that, sucrose at the highest concentration [45g/l] and ABA at 0.25 mg/l increased significantly root formation during rooting stage. Using 3/4 MS salt strength medium supplemented with ABA at 0.25 mg/l and sucrose at 45 g/l increased significantly the number of roots, plantlet length, growth vigor, plantlet and root thickness, while control MS medium [ABA free medium] recorded the highest value of plantlet lengt, 1/2 MS medium increased significantly the root length