Degradation of Date Palm Trees and Date Production in Arab Countries: Causes and Potential Rehabilitation

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is a major fruit crop in most Arab countries. it has historically been connected with sustaining human life and tradition of the people in the old world as a major agricultural crop. Arab countries possess 70% of the 120 million worldʹs date palms and are responsible for 67% of the global date production. During the past 50 years, date palm groves were subjected to degradation due to extensive exploitation resulting from the increase in the human population and domestic animals. Like many other plants, some palms are in danger of dying out because of human activity. Date palm production faces serious problems such as low yields as well as marketing constraints. Over the last decade, productivity of date palm trees has declined in the traditional growing areas. As much as 30% of production can potentially be lost as a result of pests and disease. In the Gulf countries and Egypt, the Red Palm Weevil has recently become one of the major date palm pests, while Bayoud disease caused by a parasitic fungus is a common threat to date palms in North Africa. Technical and socio-economic factors contributed for date palm degradation. Also, date processing and marketing have affected the economic revenue from date production and its quality. Rehabilitation of date palm trees in the Arab countries is crucial and needs collaborative efforts and a dedicated budget. Recommendations for stopping the degradation in date palm sector and strengthening this industry particularly for cultivation, harvesting, date processing and marketing in the Arab countries have been proposed