Introduction

Date Palm was first established in the hot arid and semi arid regions, knowing that its origin are traced back to the Arabic Peninsula, where date cultivation is considered the skeleton of agriculture. Date palm adapts well to the harsh edapho-climatic conditions (temperature, drought and salinity).

According to the official statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the annual world date production had exceeded the six million tons in 2007. Date fruits are considered an ideal food source and contain several main nutrients such as sugar, amino acids, oligo elements and proteins. Calorie wise dates contain three times the energy provided by watermelon, four times of apples and seven times of oranges.

Under the leadership of His Highness, UAE President, Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahayan, there are continual efforts to increase agricultural productivity, to make better use of available resources, and to effect an agricultural leap changing the face of the UAE’s desert. Indeed, His Highness the President, attaches great importance to agricultural development in general, and to date palm in particular

The present event is the fourth one in a series of international exhibtion organized by UAE during the last six years. Indeed, the first exhibition was held in Al Ain during 23 – 25 December, 2004, the second one was during 7 – 11 November, 2006, followed by the third during 22 – 26 October, 2008.

Hence, the UAE University, in collaboration with Khalifa International Date Palm Award, Date Palm Friends Society, and Date Palm Global Network, did take the initiative to organize this Fourth International Date Palm Exhibition.