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How are date palms propagated for commercial planting?

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Dense grove of acai palm trees (Euterpe oleracea) with slender trunks and abundant green fronds growing on Combu Island in Belem, Para, Brazil. — Palm Wild acai palms (*Euterpe oleracea*) growing on Combu Island in Belem, state of Para in Brazil.

For commercial planting, date palms are propagated using suckers, which are offshoots that develop primarily near the base of the stem during the early years of the palm's life.1

When these offshoots reach three to six years of age and have developed their own root systems, they are removed from the parent tree and planted. While date palms can also be grown from seeds, the use of offshoots is the standard method for commercial cultivation to ensure the desired characteristics of the parent plant are maintained.1