About 400-600 cultivars of date have been reported to be identified in Iran, but it is generally believed that most of them are synonyms. By determining the local cultivar characteristics, genetical sources may be conserved. On the other hand suitable genes such as those responsible for resistance to pests, soil salinity, drought and other environmental stresses may be found and transferred to those stocks of high quality. Cultivar identification, in fact, may help to select the best improved commercial dates. In this study, 20 cultivars from shadegan area were identified, all of which belonged to phoenix dctylifera. The studied characteristics were as fallows:
1. General cultivar characteristics.
2. Fruit characteristics.
3. Inflorescence characteristics.
4. Bunch characteristics.
5. Seed characteristics.
6. Cap characteristics.
Based upon the studied characteristics two identification keys (based on fruit and leaf characteristics) were presented and the following cutlivars identified:
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