Determination of Economic life of varieties of palms "Sayer" in Ahwaz

Increase of old orchards is an important challenging issue in Iran’s date palm sector. This study has conducted in order to determine the optimal replacement age of date palms of commercial cultivar of Sayer (Estaomran) in Ahwaz region. General survey based on stratified random sampling with interview forms and library studies used to collect the data needed to achieve the research objectives and Faris approach was used to determine the date palm optimal replacement age. Two scenarios were defined and studied in this research. Insert rate has been set equal to normal baking insert rate for the first scenario while normal insert rate % for the second scenario. Results showed that in the first scenario, optimal replacement age of Sayer palms in Ahwaz region is 38 years. Sensitivity analysis showed that with 10% and 20% change in product price and production costs, replacement age is changing almost the same but inversely. Replanting Sayer palms found not cost-effective at any age in the second scenario. Encountering this condition, growers reject replacing their old palms to avoid loss of investment. In this condition the government role is important in supporting date growers through increase of growers’ knowledge or financial aids for enhancement of orchards productivity like replacing Sayer palms with other higher-yielding varieties due to the importance of date palm sector in national economy and regional employment