Basrah Journal For Date Palm Research

The experiment carried out at plant cells and tissue culture laboratory, College of Education University of Basra, in 2010; on shoot tips quarters of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cv. Bream.
Shoot tips quarters were cultured on MS nutrient medium with addition of sucrose, sodium di-hydrogen orthophosphate, thiamine, Myo-inositol, activated charcoal, agar and using auxin 2,4-D and cytokinin BA as growth regulators. Water stress was induced by using Polyethylene glycol (PEG 3000) in concentrations of (0, 10 and 20) %.
The results indicate that using PEG 3000 with previous concentrations caused significant increase in callus fresh weight when compared with nutrient medium free of PEG 3000 with no significant difference between the two concentrations; while there was a significant increase in somatic embryos produced by nutrient medium with 10% PEG 3000 compared with that having 20% PEG or control treatment free of PEG.

This study had been done in the laboratory of Plant Pathology at the department of plant Protection Research at the state board of Agricultural Research. as it was limited to several sites was planted with offshoots of date - palms in the provinces of Baghdad, Diyala, Wasit. After an autopsy, isolation and laboratory testing were obtained on the fungi Acremonium sp. , Alternaria alternata , Aspergillus flavus , Aspergillus niger , Fusarium oxysporum , Fusarium solani , Fusarium sp1 , Fusarium sp2 and Fusarium sp3.

The laboratory testing were obtained on different isolates of Fusarium fungus. Shows the inability of those types of injury and isolates to infect palm seedling also show the ability of the two isolates of Fusarium to events the death of the summit of the offshoots after the events of the wounds . This isolates were identified as Fusarium lateritium according to the key taxonomic Booth (1971) .
So it is the first record of this fungus as a causal factor of death to date palm seedling in the middle of Iraq .

The fungus Alternaria alternata was isolated from date palm ( Hillawi ,Sayer , Dairy , Khidrhrawi and Gannami cultivars ) at Al-Dair region in Basrah .
The pathogenicity test showed that this fungus has the ability to infect the varieties and gave symptoms of inflorescence rot which represented by strand blacking and smuting .
The temperature degree 25 Co was found to be an optimal degree for the fungus growth .
The fungicides Vacomil and Mezab inhibited the fungus in a percent of 100 % for each one compared to Benlate , Elsa and Topas which led to inhibit the growth in percents of 71.42 and 41 % respectively . the antagonism between Trichoderma harzianum and A. alternata revealed that the antagonism degree between them was 73.3% .

The present study was undertaken at tissue culture laboratory/Date Palm Research Center-Basrah university during the growth season 2010 to study the effect of amino acid prolin (0 , 25, 50 , 100 ) mg/L in some physical and chemical characteristics of date palm seedling and germinating Seeds .
Results Indicated that prolin 100 mg/L Treatments had Significant Effect in fresh and dry weight of leaves and roots , leaves area , leaves width and diameter seedling , the result showed that treatment of prolin at concentrations ( 50 and 100 ) mg / l increased of germinating seeds significantly , also prolin 100 mg/L Treatments increased content of chlorophyll and nitrogen in leaves significantly , while prolin 0 mg/L Treatments increased significantly content of prolin in leaves significantly compared with other treatments .

The study was conducted in the lab. of Palm Research Center – Basrah during growing season (2009) collected fruit from one of the orchards Abo Al-Kaseeb in three periods during the stage of Khalal (the early stage of Khalal and the stage of Khalal middle and final stage of Khalal ) by immersion by using sodium chloride concentration (2 and 4 %) and extract of liquorice concentration (2.5 and 5) g / L and acetic acid concentration of 2% and the treatment comparison to see the effect of immersion for a period of five minutes of the maturity of the fruits of khasab cultivar , the results showed more than fully matured (final Khalal ) significantly compared to the early stage of Khalal and the middle stage of Khalal increased in percentage of ripened fruits, and the treatment of dowsing with sodium chloride concentration of 2% significantly increased percentage of ripened fruits compared to other treatments, whereas interaction effect between the factors were the treatments of dowsing sodium chloride concentration of 2% at the final of Khalal stage (81.66%) increased significantly percentage of ripened fruits compared to other treatments, and had to study the other qualities in the final stage of Khalal as superior treatment immersion extract of liquorice with 5 g / L significantly on decrease the percentage loss in weight compared to other treatments and treatment of dowsing with sodium chloride significantly increased the percentage of total soluble solids and total sugars and reducing sugars compared to other treatments, surpassing the Treatment of dowsing with sodium chloride significantly in raise the pH of the fruit compared to other treatments, while treatment of dowsing with acetic acid resulted in to reduce the pH of the fruits .

The present study was carried out in aprivate orchard in shatt –ALAraab region –Basrah ,fieldly and laboratory in date palm researth center to purpose extraction and determination s hormones (auxins,Gibbrillin ,Cytokinin and abscisic acid ). The results show that seed fruits higher significant on parthenocarpic fruits in auxins-like substances during fruits stage low and rapid of growth until 16th week after pollination (khalal stage for seeded fruits ). Hwever, seeded and parthenocarpic fruits appear followed until 16th week after pollination .As for , results show that the seeded and parthenocarpic fruits for cultivars Hillawi appeared followed appear followed until the Gibbrillines-like substances in all stage and higher significantly for parthenocarpic fruits at 6th week after pollination . However , not significant different between in both specious in ether weeks from growth and development. As well as , The results showed that increase Cytokinin-like substances continue from 4th to 10th week after pollination (log phase of growth )for seeded fruits and 6th week after pollination for parthenocarpic fruits and entered seeded fruits in khalal stage (16th week after pollination ) decreased Cytokinin-like substances .whereas ,decline that substances for parthenocarpic fruits at 10th week after pollination to higher again time at entered 16th week after pollination . As for, ABA –like substances that seeded and parthenocarpic fruits take similar sequence in all stage except first stage growth and significantly for seeded fruits .

Three varieties of date and their seeds had been measured for the antioxidant activity and the total phenolics, it was been showed that the date seeds had the highest contents of antioxidant activity (18900 – 25700 μmol Fe+2 / 100 g dry weight) and total phenolics (1623 - 1680 mg GA /100 g dry weight).
The results showed that the date seeds are serve as a good source for natural antioxidants and total phenolics for medicinal and commercial uses

The present study conducted in laboratory college of Agriculture,The samples collected in 2009 year,The study includes Extraction of date palm fruits varieties during tamer stage These varieties are (Khudrawi, Braim). The Extraction process was conducted using water and methanol. the antioxidant activity for these varieties extraction The properties of Khudrawi and Braim extraction like chelating ability, reducing power, scavenging of hydrogen Peroxide and Stability of the activity at deferent pH , influence of temperature exposure (180) C and the synergistic effect were studied .The antioxidant activity is estimated for the Linolic acid by taking different concentrations from date extractions during tamer stages. the highest activity of antioxidant for Khudrawi 79.86 % and 75.98% for Braim extraction when extracted with water and methanol at concentration of 100 mg/ml that was less active than industrial antioxidation (BHT) that reached 97.90 % and the natural α -tocopherol that its activity reached 89.50 %.The extraction of Khudrawi date is higher in chelating ability to Bream extraction of phenol while there is no significant differences between the two extractions in the reducing power There are no significant differences between the extractions in the scavenging of hydrogen Peroxide,The Stability of the activity of the antioxidant compounds for Khudrawi date and Bream at pH 3,7,11 for different incubation periods were estimation. Rapid decrease is noticed in the activity of the antioxidant after 24 hours of incubation at pH11 and 3 while at pH7 it is slight decrease in the activity for the antioxidant activity gradually all over incubation period. The influence of temperature exposure (180) C to the antioxidant activity for Khudrawi and Bream and for different time periods (0-120) minute had decreased the activity of the compounds of the antioxidant activity with slight decrease in significantly all over the incubation period.In terms of the synergistic effect, the results showed an increase in synergistic effect for the mixtures of extractions with α –tocopherol and ascorbic acid with increase in concentrations of the antioxidant compounds (20,40,60) mg/ml and for different incubation periods and the treatment (60+60) mg/ml of (Khudrawi extraction + α -tocopherol) have the best results and decreased in the inhibition rate with progress in the incubation period.

This study was carried out as partial study to search the mechanisms of salt tolerance in date palm tree. The result shows the salinity in irrigation water as NaCl( 0 ,6 ,12 ,18 , 24 )dS/m was significant effects on some chemical substances (proline , carbohydrates and chlorophyll) and some vegetative characteristics (leaf length and root length). The salt irrigation water was a significant increase in proline content in leaf and root with salt concentration increase, the proline concentration at 24 ds/m reach (25 ,18.8)µg/g dry weight in leaf and root respectively , whereas there were no significant changing in carbohydrates and chlorophyll with salt concentrations increase tell 12 dS/m, thereafter decrease in this characteristics with increase the salt concentration, the carbohydrates concentration at 24 ds/m reach (33.5 ,21.9)mg/g dry weight in leaf and root respectively and chlorophyll was reach (2.1)mg/100g fresh weight, this matter was correspond with vegetable characteristics.

The result of bacterial culturing of 62 swabs taken from eye infection(conjungtivitis) revealed the isolation of each Staphyllococcus aureus ,Staphyllococcus epidermidis in (30%, 45%)respectively of the total isolates inhibitory activites of mixture of phenolic compound wich extracted from date palm partes (frut, seed , meristel ) against each of Staphyllococcus aureus ,Staphyllococcus epidermidisin at concentrationes(10, 20,40, 80,100)mglml was(11.oo,11.76,,14.33,18.33,24.00) (11.00,13.00,14.67,21.00,26.33)
And the result show that there was no toxicity in this phenolic compound Staphyllococcus aureus and ,Staphyllococcus epidermides showed resistance rate about (31.31%, 5.12%, 9.41%,), (25.11%,8.22%,38.32% ) antibacterial activities against antibiotics Chloramphinicol,Vancomycin Tobramycin