A faculty member in the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Plants, College of Agriculture, University of Kerbala, Assistant Professor Dr. Harith Mahmood Aziz Al-Tamimi, has published a scientific paper titled:
“Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Response to Mineral Fertilizer and Growth Regulator”
in the SABRAO Journal of Breeding and Genetics, an international journal specialized in plant breeding and production. The journal is ranked in the second quartile (Q2) within the Clarivate database (Impact Factor: 1.7) and indexed in Scopus (Cite Score: 2.4).
The study aimed to enhance the productivity and quality of ‘Barhi’ date palm fruits, which suffer from production issues caused by the sensitivity of the fruits to harsh climatic conditions, fruit cracking, and irregular yields. This was achieved through the use of mineral fertilization and the growth regulator brassinolide, known for stimulating cell growth, increasing flowering, and improving fruit formation.
The results showed that the interaction between mineral fertilization at a rate of 1500 g/palm and brassinolide at a concentration of 0.8 mg/L led to an increase in total yield and improvement in fruit quality. This enhances the productive and economic value of the Barhi cultivar and highlights the importance of adopting these treatments in date palm production improvement programs.
