Enhancement of Acclimatization of in Vitro Propagated Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Plantlets, Barhi Cultivar, Using Paclobutrazol and Sorbitol

Abstract

The study was carried out in the period 2024 to 2025 in the Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory, which is part of the Date Palm Research Center, University of Basra, to investigate the effect of using two concentrations of the growth regulator paclobutrazol (PBZ) (2 and 4 mg/L) and two concentrations of the sugar alcohol sorbitol(Sor) (5 and 10 g/L) via foliar application, and a control treatment where only distilled water was used to spray, on improving the acclimatization of Barhi date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) plantlets. Findings from this research revealed that paclobutrazol and sorbitol significantly affected the acclimatization success rate. This was supported by an increase in acclimatization success rate to 90% with paclobutrazol at 4 mg/L. Additionally, the concentration enhanced fresh and dry weight, carbohydrate, and proline content in the leaves relative to the control treatment. The results also indicated that the application of (Sor) at 10g/L to the plantlets resulted in higher level of chlorophyll in comparison with the control (untreated) plantlets.

Keywords: acclimatization; Date palm; PBZ; Sor; stress; tissue culture.

Received Date: June 19, 2026

Accepted Date: July 10, 2026

Published Date: August 01, 2026

Available Online at: https://www.ijsrisjournal.com/index.php/ojsfiles/article/view/794