Economic injury assessment of the date palm leaf yellowing and drying out disorder in commercial cultivars of dates in Khuzestan province

Document Type : Research

Authors

1 Member of the academic staff of Date Palm & Tropical Fruits Research Center,

2 Research expert of Date Palm & Tropical Fruits Research Center

3 Member of the academic staff of Date Palm & Tropical Fruits Research Center

Abstract

This study was conducted with the aim of assessment of the economic impact of date palm leaf yellowing and drying out (DPLYD) on the yield of different date palm cultivars. The statistical population of the study includes all orchards in the three regions of Ahwaz, Abadan and Shadegan from Khuzestan province. The data was collected using questionaires and face-to-face interviews with date growers. In this study, three groves in each region that had five dominant cultivars of the region were selected and ten palm trees (replicates) of each variety were taken randomly and the amount of gross income, the apparent percentage of damage, the age of the palms, the amount of contamination with other pests and diseases, and the number of fertilization and irrigation times were recorded. MATLAB® 2020 was used to extract the models using Monte Carlo simulation method, and Eviews® was used to explore the regression model of each cultivar-place order. In overall the results showed that the economic impact of DPLYD on the studied cultivars was usually insignificant. Also compared to other factors affecting the income index, due to the small contribution of DPLYD in the economic loss in Saamrun and Gantar cultivars in Ahwaz, Barhee in Abadan and Gantar and Breim in Shadgan, control and control costs could be allocated for more sensitive cultivars. The difference in the coefficients of the effect of DPLYD on the income index also has revealed the differences in cultivar’s response to the disorder in different places. This can reciprocally affects the control policies of this disorder.

Keywords