Field Evaluation of Tissue Culture-Derived and Offshoot-Grown Date Palm Cultivars: A Comparative Analysis of Vegetative and Fruit Attributes

Najamuddin Solangi ¹ Abdul Aziz Mirani ¹ Mushtaque Jatoi ¹ Lal bux ² Adel Ahmed Abul-Soad ³ Gholamreza Abdi ^4*

• ¹ Shah Abdul Latif University, Khairpur, Sindh, Pakistan
• ² Department of Chemistry, Shaheed Benazir Bhutto University, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan
• ³ Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Centre, Giza, Egypt, giza, Egypt
• ⁴ Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran

Field performance of tissue culture (TC) derived commercial cultivars of date palm (Kashuwari, Gulistan and Dedhi) obtained from juvenile inflorescence explants was carried out to compare different vegetative and fruit attributes to their respective offshoot (OS) grown mother plants. A comprehensive analysis of leaf, bunch, and fruit-related variables was conducted five years after planting in open field. The data obtained were used to perform ANOVA, k-means clustering and PCA tests. Results revealed that most of the variables showed non-significant variations between TC and OS grown mother plants across all the three cultivars. K-means clustering produced three distinct clusters for each of the three cultivars, placing all their TC and OS plants together in their respective clusters, except for one TC plant of cv. Gulistan which was placed with cv. Dedhi. PCA results showed that first two components explain a significant portion of the total variations in all the three date palm cultivars, ranging from 71.4% to 76.4%. The study provides critical insights for validating tissue culture methods, assessing adaptability in open field conditions, ensuring genetic stability and ultimately expanding the adoption and impact of tissue culture techniques in agriculture.