S13 - Session O3 - Establishment of mineral optimal range for nutrient diagnosis for Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) in Tozeur Tunisian Oases

Authors: Mouna BenDaly Labaied, Lotfi Khiari, Nabila El Kadri, Anis Zouba, Foued Ben Hmida, Mehdi 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, a first work for establishing a nutrient diagnosis norm was done for oases in Kebili region in South Tunisia (Bendaly Labaied et al.2020). However, the Tunisian date production is also important in Tozeur area. Locally or regionally developed norms produce a higher degree of precision because many factors related with 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 norms from literature to diagnostic standards using the CND (Compositional Nutrient Diagnosis) methodology, using 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 = 100) of yield and mineral nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg, B, Cu, Zn, Mn, Fe) taken from date palm leaflets was used. The results showed that the found norms in this study were similar to the norms developed in Kebili oasis. So, these diagnostic norms could be extended to other region where date palms are growing under similar production, environmental conditions and management, as Kebili and Tozeur regions.