干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

This article analyzes the current situation and perspectives for the development of date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) cultivation in Chile and Peru. These two countries are situated on the western coast of South America on the Pacific Ocean, both are desert areas with a climate suited to date fruit production. Local varieties of dates have been derived from seed in Peru and Chile and developed along the length of the 2,300 km coastal strip and up to an elevation of 1,500 m. These seedling dates currently represent an unstudied natural germplasm bank that has adapted over the course of 400 years in geographic isolation and in the absence of date pests and diseases. They have developed within an environment of lower summer temperatures, accumulation of thermic units and higher relative humidity compared to the desert areas of North Africa and the Middle East. By contrast, they possess advantages to deal with optimal conditions of luminosity, active photosynthesis and the absence of rainfall and frost. As a result of these conditions there have developed multiple date palm genotypes, some with notably large fruit size of high quality. Flowering occurs between August and October, producing harvestable fruits during the months of March to August, with variation according to elevation and specific local conditions. Nevertheless, commercial date production is minimal and of a low level of technology, with minimal development of processing techniques. Some date palms are grown for ornamental purposes. Date fruit are almost unknown outside the production zones and date consumption does not exceed 2 g per person per year.