Green House and Field Level Problems of Tissue Cultured Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Plants: A Review

Expansion of cultivation demands an uninterrupted supply of quality planting material. The demand-supply chain in the planting material production of date palms, including India, is skewed due to rapid expansion in non-conventional areas because of increasing awareness of its nutritional importance and stress tolerance. Innovative mass multiplication techniques other than the conventional approaches using offshoots have been developed to achieve the projected demand besides obtaining disease-free plantlets. The expansion has also resulted in fresh problems and the objective and crux of this paper is to critically review this aspect. The study is based on extensive search and thorough analysis of the existing available literature. Systematic approach to classify the problems has also been undertaken. Reports of problems in plants derived through conventional methods and those derived by callus mediated organogenesis and somatic embryos is the foundation of this paper. Problems in date palm propagation and cultivation could be broadly categorised as problems observed under in vitro culture and abnormalities in the field conditions. Each of the identified problems have been explained to describe the symptoms, the susceptible variety/varieties, the causative factors and any recommended control measures. These problems demand focussed research to develop standard protocols and procedures aimed at overcoming these maladies. The main purpose of this paper is to have a focused consolidated and comprehensive review of the ailing in vitro and field level disorders so as to throw light on the pressing problems and define the future lines of investigations.