Diagnosis of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) grown in Tunisian oases of Tozeur by the approach of the compositional nutrient balance between its ten essential nutrients

M. Bendaly Labaied, L. Khiari, A. Zouba, N. Kadri, F. Ben Hmida, M. Ben Mimoun
The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) is an important fruit production in Tunisia. Foliar analysis is an important tool to control plant mineral nutrition. Nevertheless, leaf norms of date palms are not well developed. In Tunisia, the first work for establishing a nutrient diagnosis norm was done for oases in the Kebili region in southern Tunisia However, the Tunisian date production is also vital in the Tozeur area. Locally or regionally developed norms produce a higher degree of precision because many factors related to yield or date quality may change: cultivar, climate, soil, and crop management. For that, the aim of this study was to compare and validate CND (compositional nutrient diagnosis) norms from literature to diagnostic standards using the CND methodology, using the yield and nutritional contents of the leaf of date palm trees. The study was performed in continental Saharan oases of Tozeur during the crop seasons 2020 and 2021. A database (n=99) of yield and mineral nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, B, Cu, Zn, Mn and Fe) taken from date palm leaflets was used. The results showed that the found norms in this study were a closer to the norms developed in Kebili oasis. So, despite the similarity of Kebili and Tozeur regions in production, environmental conditions, and management, locally or regionally developed norms produce a higher degree of precision.
Bendaly Labaied, M., Khiari, L., Zouba, A., Kadri, N., Ben Hmida, F. and Ben Mimoun, M. (2023). Diagnosis of the date palm (Phoenix dactylifera) grown in Tunisian oases of Tozeur by the approach of the compositional nutrient balance between its ten essential nutrients. Acta Hortic. 1375, 225-232
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1375.30
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2023.1375.30
foliar diagnosis, compositional nutrient diagnosis, symmetrical nutrient adequacy interval, interaction between nutrients
English

Acta Horticulturae