Date of Award

6-1999

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Environmental Science

First Advisor

Dr. Mohamad Hassanin Soliman

Second Advisor

Prof. Ahmed Al-Sherif AI-Badawy

Third Advisor

Prof. Hasan Rahman Hasuoni

Abstract

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) monocotyledon dioecious tree is one of the most important fruit crop trees in the Arabian Gulf region in general and in the UAE in particular.

Date palm is propagated sexually by seeds or vegetative by offshoots. Seed propagation is not appropriate for commercial production because of the high genetic heterozygosity, which resulted in not true-to-type male and female seedlings. The vegetative propagation utilizing offshoots is slow and inefficient for rapidly growing demands of the date industry. Therefore, it seems essential to use plant tissue culture techniques for propagating and producing date palms.

The present study included three experiments that were conducted through three successive seasons (1996- 1998). The first experiment included the effect of 18 different media developed from various combinations of different auxin and concentrations, in addition to the control (no hormones at all), on shoot bud generation from shoot tip of Khnazi cultivar. Maximum percentage of explants formed bud generative tissue were induced by the addition of 1.6mg/l lAA or 0.4mg/l of both lAA and NAA to the initiation medium. Maximum number of differentiated buds per bud generative tissue resulted from the addition of 0.8 mg/l lAA to initiation medium. The initiation medium contained Murashige and Skoog inorganic salts and supplemented with 100mg/l myo-inositol, 0.5mg/l nicotinic acid, 0.5 mg/l pyridoxine, 0.1 mg/l thiamine-HCI, 2 mg/l Glycine, 40mg/l adenine sulfate, 2g/l polyvinile pyrolidon (PVP 40000), 3mg/l activated charcoal, and 40mg/l sucrose.

In the second experiment, 23 different media were developed from the combinations of different cytokines and concentrations. Maximum percentage of explants formed bud generative tissue was induced by the addition of 3.2 mg/l 2iP or 1.6 mg/l BAP. Maximum number of generated buds per explants was induced by the addition of 3.2 mg/l 2iP to initiation medium. Both auxins and cytokines proved to be essential for the induction of bud generative tissue and for differentiation of shoot buds from cultured explants.

In the third experiment, shoot tips of the tested cultivar were cultured monthly beginning from September 5, and continued for successive 12 months, on two different types of medium. Maximum percentage of explants formed bud generative tissue was attained during spring season, especially in March. Similarly, maximum number of buds was produced during the spring, and in particular at the month of April regardless of medium types. The hot environment in summer inhibited the formation bud generative tissues, and the differentiation of shoot bud per generative tissue.

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