Variability of some Nigerian date-palm (Phoenix dactylifera L) accessions as revealed by vegetative traits

The date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an economically important species vital for food security in Nigeria, especially for the northern population. This work was carried out on 21 date palm accessions, studying their morphological characteristics. Morphological characters of the tree are also taken into consideration for cultivar identification. Twenty-one female palm trees were randomly selected from the gene pools. From each tree, forty (40) fruits were collected which were then checked for physical damage and injury from insects and fungal infection. The plant height was highest in accession R13P5, while the highest petiole length was recorded in accession R15P6 and R9P2. The width of leaves was highest in accessions R6P20 and R13P5. The girth size in palm crops which indicates evidence of maturity was in accession R5P8. The leaflets arrangement among some accessions either is alternate or opposite in arrangement, However, in some accessions, this character is not stable where some accessions were observed to have both alternate and opposite arrangement with a single leaflet in-between. The accession R5P20 with the highest girth size is however important in the development of breeding programmes for growth selection among the accessions. The results show that the morphological characteristics of the studied accessions vary from one cultivar to another with regard to some quantitative vegetative characteristics that may be very useful for selection in current and future breeding programmes