PAU unlocking state’s agri potential in date palm

Ludhiana, September 23

India at present is the largest importer of date palm with an import volume of approximately 439.5 million metric tonnes and imports about 38 per cent of the world market. Punjab, primarily an agriculture state is unable to contribute much towards its production because sadly during the 1947 Partition, the date-growing southwest districts of West Punjab became part of Pakistan.

Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) which earlier played a key role for ringing in the Green Revolution has now undertaken the challenging task of unlocking the date palm cultivation potential in arid zones of Punjab due to their high salinity and drought tolerance, which other fruit crops struggle with.

“The cultivation of date palms in Punjab’s arid regions represents a promising agricultural endeavour. It will provide economic opportunities for farmers and ensure the availability of high-quality date palm products in the region,” said Dr Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, Punjab Agricultural University.

Dr Gosal revealed that scientists from PAU’s Regional Research Station, Abohar, visited countries such as the USA, Pakistan, and Middle Eastern nations. They imported 49 date varieties from the USA, Egypt, Muscat, and Pakistan. Currently, the research station boasts 34 date varieties in its germplasm block, including Hillawi, Barhee, Medjool, Khadrawi, and Zahidi.

Highlighting the importance of these diverse varieties, Dr Anil Kumar Sangwan, Director, Regional Research Station, Abohar, said that Hillawi and Barhee are particularly recommended for fresh date cultivation in Punjab due to their low astringency. They yield an average of 92.6 and 85.2 kg/tree, respectively. Medjool, Khadrawi, and Zahidi varieties excel in producing dried dates (chhuhara) and soft dates. Moreover, new local materials from Gujarat (Sona, Mansi, and BR1) and exotic varieties (Barhee, Khalas, and Khunezi) have also shown encouraging performance, said Dr Sangwan.

Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, PAU’s Director of Research, said that despite the bright potential of date palm cultivation in Punjab, the sector faces challenges such as limited planting material, costly tissue culture plants, and a lack of government subsidies, hindering its expansion.

“Government should offer subsidy to farmers for its cultivation as given by the neighbouring states of Rajasthan and Gujarat. It holds good potential and can become basis of crop diversification in the state,” added Dr Dhatt.