Production cost of tissue cultured date palm cv. Mejhoul in Morocco: a 10-year based agribusiness study

Abstract

As part of the palm grove rehabilitation and extension programs, and given the commercial importance of the Moroccan cultivar Mejhoul at the international market, Morocco has launched during the last decade, a large-scale production project of tissue cultured date palms. This study aimed to analyze the cost of production of tissue cultured date palms (cv. Mejhoul) produced in the commercial laboratories of Morocco. The micropropgation method used is direct organogenesis. It consists of several stages: initiation of meristematic buds, shoot bud multiplication, shoot elongation and rooting and then plantlet acclimatization. The study was based on surveys with commercial laboratories and on an engineering system that describes the production process of date palm tissue culture. The production cost was evaluated and different scenarios were considered depending on the losses caused by microbial contamination and during acclimatization. The findings showed that under normal circumstances the production cost of a tissue cultured date palm cv. Mejhoul is around 20.16 US$. This cost includes fixed and running costs. Labor cost was found to be the major component (23.34%) of the total cost, followed by energy (5.95%), chemicals and the inputs used in greenhouses and shade houses. The overall business was found to be very profitable but also risky because the production cost will drastically increase when the contamination rate exceeds 50%. During acclimatization, the survival rate must exceed 55% in order to ensure a reasonable profitability of such a project.

Key message

The production cost of tissue cultured date palm plants (cv. Mejhoul) was estimated, the economic profitability of a prototype commercial laboratory was determined and different risk factors were analyzed.