EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIP STUDY IN DATE PALM CULTIVARS USING MORPHOLOGICAL AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS

Abstract

The present study at S. K. Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, India on five date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivars viz. Halawy, Khalas, Sewi, Khuneizi and Dayari were assessed for their phylogenetic relationship using morphological and biochemical parameters. The maximum plant height (4.53 m) and number of leaves plant^-1 (29.75) was recorded in cv. Dayari whereas, minimum in cv. Khuneizi (3.56 m). The maximum length (43.48 cm) and breadth of pinnae (3.45 cm) were recorded under the variety of Dayari and Halawy, respectively. The maximum fruit set and length of bunch was recorded in cv. Dayari was 88.50% and 69.00 cm, respectively. The maximum number of bunches (8.75) and fruit drop (47.98%) were recorded in cv. Khalas whereas  maximum bunch weight and  number of berry strand^-1 was found in cv. Halawy (4.16 kg.) The highest stone weight was observed in Dayari (1.83 g) and maximum pulp-stone ratio was found in cv. Khuneizi (9.57).  This evaluation study helped to screen the date palm varieties for better yield. Cultivar Khalas was distantly related to all the investigated cultivars in evolution and construct a separate cluster.