Abstract :

Date palm, Phoenix dactylifera L. (Arecales: Arecaceae) is considered the cultural heritage of many nations worldwide.However, the current study was conducted at the Ghour Al-Mazrah Station, Faculty of Agriculture, Mutah University in October,2018 to determine if the cultivar and offshoots weight have a an effect on the survival rate and some vegetative parameters of P. dactylifera offshoots during their handling. Three date palm cultivars were selected; namely Medjool, Barhi and Dejlet Noor, each with 4 weight groups; 2-7.99, 8-13.99, 14-19.99 and 20-26 kg. Results showed a significant superiority of all investigatedparameters of Barhi and Dejlet Noor cultivars (survival rate, plant height, trunk diameter, leaf length, leaf and pinnae number) in comparison with Medjool cultivar. The high performance of Barhi cultivar may be due to the genetic nature of the cultivar, while offshoots’ weight (14-19.99 kg) showed a significant superiority in all studied parameters as compared with other weights; small offshoots have a weak or not formed root system, and the large weight (20-26 kg) reduced the survival rate because the difficulty of dealing with it.