All studies of date palm somatic embryogenesis used the germination of light and neglected the germination of darkness which mimics the germination of zygotic embryos in the seed. To improve the date palm micropropagation protocol, we studied the effect of light and darkness incubation on the germination of indirect date palm somatic embryos and conversion into plantlets. Darkness incubation played an efficient role in the germination of indirect date palm somatic embryos and conversion into plantlets. The darkness incubation has significantly decreased the period of indirect somatic embryo conversion into plantlets to half, from 24 weeks to only 12 weeks. The micropropagation protocol stages have been modified from two separate stages, germination and elongation, in light incubation to only one stage in darkness incubation.
These results modified the protocol stages and significantly reduced the date palm micropropagation protocol period.

Keywords: Phoenix dactylifera, somatic embryogenesis, germination, darkness, protein, phenolics