Varietal Diversity And Calendar Of Maturation Of Dates At Low Sahara; What Economic Perspective?

Résumé: The region of low Sahara constitutes the oldest agricultural regions of Algeria, specialized in the culture of the Date palm or "Phoeniciculture" in the form of palm groves sheltering a large number of varieties (11). The first objective of this study consists in updating the inventory of this diversity. The second will allow to list cultivars with regard to their periods of maturation and by pond. Consequently, it would be easy to establish a calendar of maturation of the Algerian dates by pond. Results showed that varieties differ by their forms, tastes and especially by their period of maturation. We find the varieties Deglet Nour, Ghars, Mech Degla, Tantboucht, and Degla Beida in almost all of regions. However, certain varieties known like «common varieties ", are consumed by the local populations (12).The varieties of lower quality are intended for the animal feed. These common varieties represent between 40 and 50 % of the potential phoenicicole of Low Sahara (5) (O.N.D. national office of the Date 2006 Agriculture, southeast area). All these varieties present the advantage of a maturation spread, over 6 months of the year from July till December. Indeed, if some cultivars enters on maturity in July (Ghars, Ghazi, Takarmoust, Ammari), others begin their maturity between August and October (Itima, Arechti, Helwa, Abdelazzez, Tafazouin, Tanslit), others late stay until December such as (Chetaya, Hamraya). This advantage allows the local populations to arrange for 6 months of a production of fresh dates, factor of balance and socioeconomic stability of the environment oasien. This might represent an economic asset and an opportunity, to be seized in the development of the tourism of Sahara of Algeria. Knowing that the decrease of the varietal diversity caused by several factors among others: the ageing, the weakness of actions of marketing and technological transformations. Additionally, our investigation re-vealed a wealth about cultivars 400 among which of the little known sorts Specific to certain localities deserve to be valued for diverse even strategic socio-economic, cultural, ecological interests.

Publié dans la revue: Journal Algérien des Régions Arides