Orchard Management for Decreasing Date Palm Bunch Fading Disorder

Abstract

The date palm bunch fading disorder/disease is one of the greatest challenges faced by date palm growers. In the present study, the effect of appropriate orchard management on some qualitative and quantitative features of date 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. On the treated part, some management practices such as plowing, leaf pruning, proper nutrition, regular irrigation, pollination, regulation of leaf-bunch ratio, thinning in pollination stage, control of weeds, pests and diseases were conducted scientifically while the control part was maintained with conventional local practices. During the treatment phase, all bunches in the Khalal stage were covered with a white cloth bag. The results from both treatment plots 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 reduce date palm bunch fading disorder.