PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, REPRODUCTION, CARE - BIOLOGY - 2025

Phoenix dactylifera is a large dioecious palm species that produces edible dates and belongs to the Arecaceae family. Known as date, date, phoenix, common palm, date palm, date palm, date palm, or tamara, it is a plant native to Southwest Asia.

It is characterized by a single stem that reaches up to 30 m in height and a thickness of 20-50 cm in diameter. The pinnate and spiny leaves 2-5 m long are composed of glaucous leaflets 20-50 cm long.

Phoenix dactylifera. Source: pixabay.com

The female or male flowers are grouped in branching inflorescences that emerge from a spathe between the leaves during spring. The fruits known as dates are small edible berries, which are orange when tender and reddish-brown when ripe.

The date palm is a very rustic species and resistant to all types of soils, as long as it has good permeability and sufficient humidity in the productive phases. Since ancient times it has been cultivated to take advantage of its fruits and to obtain palm trees. Today it is a cosmopolitan plant for ornamental use.

General characteristics

Appearance

It is a dioecious palm with a cylindrical and vertical trunk that reaches up to 30 m in height and 25-50 cm in diameter. The smooth-appearing trunk is covered by the debris of dry leaves, the presence of shoots at the base of the stem is common.

Leaves

The 2-7 m long pinnate leaves are made up of numerous glaucous, firm and sharp leaflets 20-80 cm long. The leaflets are distributed alternately along the rachis of the leaves; the crown is dense and terminal.

flowers

- Species: Phoenix dactylifera L., 1753.

Etymology

- Phoenix: the name of the genus comes from the Greek word «φοῖνιξ» or «φοίνικος» in allusion to «phoínix» which means Phoenician. Indeed, it was the Phoenicians who propagated this plant from its place of origin.

- dactylifera: the specific adjective derives from the Latin term meaning "that produces dates."

Synonymy

- Palma dactylifera (L.) Mill.

- Phoenix dactylifera var. adunca DH Christ ex Becc.

- Phoenix dactylifera var. costata Becc.

- P. dactylifera var. cylindrocarpa Mart.

- P. dactylifera var. gonocarpa Mart.

- Phoenix dactylifera var. oocarpa Mart.

- Phoenix dactylifera var. oxysperma Mart.

- P. dactylifera var. sphaerocarpa Mart.

- P. dactylifera var. sphaerosperma Mart.

- Phoenix dactylifera var. sylvestris Mart.

- Palma Major Garsault

- Phoenix atlantica var. maroccana A. Chev.

- Phoenix chevalieri D. Rivera, S. Ríos & Obón

- P. excelsior Cav., Nom. illeg.

- P. iberica D. Rivera, S. Ríos & Obó

Leaves of Phoenix dactylifera. Source: Photo by David J. Stang

Habitat and distribution

The date palm is a tropical and subtropical species that inhabits most of the continents. It is grown in the arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa, Arabia and the Persian Gulf, the northern Mediterranean, the Canary Islands, and the southern United States.

Its natural habitat is dry, arid, desert and sub-desert regions, with full exposure and high incidence of strong winds. It grows on sandy, saline soils with a deep water table, in an altitude range of 0-300 meters above sea level.

Reproduction

- Requirements

Weather

It is grown in arid and semi-arid climates, characterized by long, hot summers with low rainfall and relative humidity. In desert conditions it is able to withstand up to 50 ºC if it is kept under irrigation, on the contrary in winter it supports occasional temperatures lower than 0 ºC.

Its growth threshold stops at less than 7 ºC, above this value it activates its growth up to a maximum of 32 ºC. The fruiting period lasts between 120-200 days. In areas with an average temperature of 18 ºC, the date palm limits the production of fruits.

Relative precipitation / humidity

This species is adapted to conditions of low rainfall and low relative humidity. In areas of frequent precipitation, the rains favor the development of the crop, washing away the salts deposited in the sandy and saline soils.

Rainfall can cause crop damage if it occurs after pollination, as rain tends to wash pollen off flowers. Similarly, rainfall increases relative humidity favoring the appearance of pests and fungal diseases.

Stem bark of Phoenix dactylifera. Source: Emőke Dénes

Floor

It grows on various types of terrain, from sandy and loose soils to heavy soils with a clay texture. However, the ideal texture is sandy, deep and well-drained soils, especially when the water quality has a high salt content.

Saline and alkaline soils are common in date palm growing areas. This crop tolerates certain levels of salinity, in fact it can survive in soils with 3% soluble salts, but stops its growth if it increases to 6%.

- Spread

The date palm can be propagated by means of seeds, suckers or by means of the in vitro propagation technique.

Propagation by seeds

The method of propagation by seeds is little recommended for this type of crop due to its dioecious character. Indeed, with this method female and male plants are obtained in equal proportions, the quality of the pollen is not controlled and the plant takes seven years to bear fruit.

On the other hand, palms obtained from seeds are different from the mother plant and there is a lot of variability within the progeny. The quality of the fruits is usually inferior and they present late maturation; This technique is used only for genetic improvement.

Propagation by suckers

Vegetative propagation is carried out by separating suckers from the mother plant. The suckers are obtained from the base when the mother plant reaches a minimum diameter of 25 cm.

The suckers are uprooted from young plants, 10-15 years old, managing to extract as many rhizomes as possible. They are then planted in pots under nursery conditions and require 1-2 years of care before being planted in the field.

This type of propagation has the advantage of maintaining varietal purity, since a clone of the mother plant is obtained. In addition, the sex of the new plant is guaranteed, the desired characteristics are reproduced and entry into production is ensured in 2-3 years.

Spread

The use of the tissue culture technique has great comparative advantages with the methods of sexual and vegetative propagation. In fact, in vitro culture allows large scale propagation of healthy female plants or higher pollen male plants.

Genetically uniform plants are obtained, disease free, resistant cultivars and lower production costs. In addition, it avoids the seasonal effect on the crop, it already spreads at any time of the year at the laboratory level.

Dates of Phoenix dactylifera. Source: pixabay.com

Care

Location

The date palm is a plant that requires full sun exposure and in areas with strong winds it is recommended to use a high planting density. It is advisable to use a 10 x 10 m plantation frame, depending on the climatic and varietal factors of the crop.

Floor

It is an undemanding crop in terms of soil quality, it grows on any type of soil, whether limestone or sandy. However, it grows best on sandy or clay soils, provided they are permeable and have effective drainage.

Irrigation

It is a drought resistant plant, however, during the development and growth phases it requires enough water to reach its maximum performance. When the productive phase has started, it requires two weekly irrigations during the warm months and the rest of the year one weekly.

Subscriber

Despite growing in extreme arid and saline conditions, it requires the application of organic fertilizers and chemical fertilizers. The use of fertilizers with a high content of potassium and nitrogen before the flowering and fruiting processes will favor the crop's performance.

Pruning

Pruning is carried out in order to remove old or dry leaves and the remains of the fruit after harvest. In the same way, pruning allows to eliminate the suckers to prevent their development and prevent them from limiting the development of the mother plant.

Rusticity

The Phoenix dactylifera species is a very rustic palm with great adaptability to various types of soil and atmospheric conditions. It supports saline soils with alkaline pH, and high temperature ranges from -10 ºC to 50 ºC.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) in its natural habitat. Source: haitham alfalah

Plagues and diseases

Pests

The red palm scale (Phonicoccus marlatti) is an insect that invades the base of young and adult leaves. The main symptoms are the wilting of the foliar area, the desiccation of the foliar shoots and total weakness of the plant.

The red weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) is a curculionid that enters the tissues and can cause the death of the plant. The insect penetrates through the crown, affecting the young and central leaves. In severe attacks it destroys the apical bud and the plant dies.

The beetle known as the palm weevil (Diocalandra frumenti) is an insect whose larvae burrow galleries in the roots, leaves, inflorescences and fruits. The damage is manifested as the yellowing and drying of the affected structure, in addition its presence favors the appearance of fungal diseases.

Diseases

Under conditions of high relative humidity the fungus Botryodiplodia theobromae can occur. Symptoms appear as necrotic spots on the leaflets and their intersection, small pustules and pycnidia on the dead tissue.

Under certain conditions, false leaf rust (Graphiola phoenicis) may occur. This disease affects the old leaves causing yellowing, in the same way small pustules are observed from which the spores of the fungus are detached.

References

1. The cultivation of the date palm (2018) Infoagro Systems, SL Recovered in: infoagro.com
2. Lumbreras, EL (2006). The cultivated and feral species of large date palms in Valencian lands. Bouteloua, (1), 6-12.
3. Olivo, A., & Vielma, M. (2010). The date palm: Obtaining plants by germination of seeds in vitro. University of Los Andes, Mérida (Venezuela). Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Sciences. Pittieria 34: 133-139.
4. Phoenix dactylifera. (2019). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered at: es.wikipedia.org
5. Phoenix dactylifera (2017) ASOCOA: Solutions for your Plants. Recovered in: asocoa.com
6. Phoenix dactylifera (2019) Tree App. Recovered at: arbolapp.es
7. Salas Pascual, M., & Laguna Lumbreras, E. (2012). The Spanish catalog of invasive alien species, a missed opportunity? Plant Conservation.
8. Salomón-Torres, R., Ortiz-Uribe, N., & Villa-Angulo, R. (2017). The production of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Mexico. UABC Magazine, 91, 2017-1.
9. Sánchez, Mónica (2019) How to care for the Phoenix dactylifera or date palm. Gardening On. Recovered in: jardineriaon.com