Orchard Management for Decreasing Date Palm Bunch Fading Disorder

One of the greatest challenges faced by date palm growers is the devastating disorder of bunch fading. In the present study the effect of appropriate orchard management on some qualitative and quantitative features of palm bunch was studied. For this purpose, two orchards of cv ‘Kabkab’ with a history of previous incidence were selected in two districts of Bushehr province, Tangestan and Dashtestan. The orchards were divided into two parts, one as control and another as treated plants. In treated part, some management practices such as, plowing, leaf pruning, proper nutrition, regular irrigation, pollination, regulation of bunch to leaf ratio, thinning in pollination stage, control of weeds, pests and diseases were conducted scientifically and control part was maintained conventionally as local farmers practices. During the treatment phase, in Khalal stage all bunches were covered by a white cloth bag. The results for both sites showed that proper orchard management can improve fruit yield (Dashtestan 52.2 kg tree-1, Tangestan 88.1 kg tree-1) and reduce the severity of symptoms and therefore reduction of palm bunch fading disorder.