Climatic Characteristics and their Impact on Palm Trees Diseases in Babylon Governorate

Abstract

This is a study about the climatic characteristics and their impact on palm trees diseases in Babylon Governorate. It begins with studying the natural geographical elements that have a direct impact on palm cultivation, including the surface, climate, soil, water resources and natural plants, because they are linked to the prevailing climatic characteristics in the study area, showing their relationship to diseases that affect palm trees production.

Climate factors are among the most influential factors in creating the characteristics of the dry environment and the main factor of climate changes, as it is the influential and controlling factor in the nature, quality and type of the surface, plants, soil and lifestyles. Scientific research seeks to predict future trends of climate elements and their periodic changes and place them according to a specific temporal order in the time series, which is known as a group of reliable and successively generated observations of a phenomenon according to a specific temporal sequence.

Climatic characteristics have affected the quantities of incoming water, which has been reflected in the water consumption of palm trees, as there is a deficit in the water needs of palm trees, in addition to The effect of climatic conditions on the type of soil and its ability to retain water. The amount of water that must be added to the plant must be in accordance with the water needs determined by the climatic characteristics. This also requires that it be added in a way that ensures that the soil remains within its field capacity limits, because relying on climatic characteristics to provide the moisture content of the soil helps to increase vegetative growth and stabilize production. This research also deals with palm cultivation in terms of number according to administrative units, their total area, palm yield and production. It is noted that there is a variation between regions in production. This is due to the influence of natural factors and the prevailing (traditional) surface irrigation methods in the study area and the resulting effects of a large waste of water, which causes a portion of the water to remain above the soil surface. Due to high temperatures and the process of intense evaporation, the water leaves its salinity on the soil, in addition to the penetration of the other portion of the water to the groundwater. Due to the capillary property, this leads to soil salinization and consequently a decrease in palm production, especially varieties that do not resist these conditions, in addition to the diseases that affect this crop. Finally, a set of conclusions and recommendations.