Today's Edition
SARA ALZAABI (AL AIN)
At the core of the UAE's agricultural transformation is a focus on date palms, a symbol of the nation's heritage, with increasing investments in agricultural resources, expanded palm cultivation, and the integration of advanced technologies.
The Date Palm Development Research Unit (DPDRU), part of the Khalifa Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (KCGEB), is a key driver of agricultural development, transforming its golden desert landscape into a lush, green agricultural hub.
Since its inception in 1989, the DPDRU has become a globally acknowledged authority in date palm mass propagation.
Speaking to Aletihad as a participant in the Al Ain Dates Festival, Mariam Al Menhali, Laboratory Specialist at the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory in Al Ain, affiliated with the KCGEB, said: "We are the first laboratory in the UAE and in the Gulf countries, established in 1989 by the orders of the UAE's Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. This laboratory specialises in palm reproduction using the tissue culture technique."
She said that more than 4,000 palm trees are produced annually by DPDRU.
The research unit participates in all the related festivals due to their specialisation in palm trees, dates, and agriculture, in general.
"It is important for us to participate in these festivals to understand what is required in the market each year - such as which varieties are needed, what rare varieties people are looking for, and from there, we showcase the rare varieties we have in store. In fact, we have produced more than 250 rare varieties, and currently, we have more than 40 varieties available at the festival," Al Menhali said.
The palm grows and reproduces in four stages. The process begins with an introduction, where explants or fragments of plant tissue are placed in culture media, substances used to grow and cultivate microorganisms, for two years.
This is followed by multiplication, which takes six months for the explants to develop into shoots.
In shoot elongation and rooting, the shoots grow, and roots develop over the next three months.
Finally, in acclimatisation, the plantlets are adapted to natural conditions and transplanted into soil, a process that takes another three months.
According to the KCGEB, tissue culture for date palms offers key advantages over traditional methods, including large-scale multiplication, genetically uniform plants, and disease- and pest-free cultivars.
It further allows year-round propagation under controlled conditions, facilitates safe plant material exchange, as well as is economically reliable for large-scale production.
