2.Accordingly, most date palm orchards were converted from conventional flood irrigation into drip irrigation system that allow applying fertilizers to the palms through the irrigation system, a process known as fertigation.
3.However, the recommended optimum rate of conventionally applied NPK for mature date palm is greatly variable among scientists, possibly due to variations in soil and climatic conditions, irrigation system, tree age and cultivars.
4.Based on available literature, Klein and Zaid (1999) calculated an average world-wide fertilization rate for mature date palms as 650 g N, 650 g P and 870 g K/tree yearly.
5.In some experiments, date palms showed either little or no response to conventional soil fertilization with NPK (Bacha and Abo-Hassan, 1983; Abdalla et al., 1987; Gehgah et al., 1993).
6.However, in the past, most date palm producers mistakenly thought that fertilization is not a critical since; date palm can grow and relatively produce under a wide range of soil and climatic conditions.