Somatic Embryogenesis of Date Palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) Through Cell Suspension Culture

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is the oldest and most economically important plant species distributed in the hot arid regions of the world. Propagation of date palm by seeds produces heterogeneous offspring with inferior field performance and poor fruit quality. Traditionally, date palm is propagated by offshoots, but this method is inefficient for mass propagation because of limited availability of offshoots. Plant regeneration through tissue culture is able to provide technologies for the large-scale propagation of healthy true-to-type plants. The most commonly used technology approach is somatic embryogenesis which presents a great potential for the rapid propagation and genetic resource preservation of this species. Significant progress has been made in the development and optimization of this regeneration pathway through the establishment of embryogenic suspension cultures. This chapter focuses on the methods employed for the induction of callus from shoot tip explants, establishment of cell suspension culture, and subsequent somatic embryogenesis and plant regeneration.