The date palm is an icon of resilience in arid ecosystems, yet its survival is increasingly challenged by climate change and disease. Belowground, a powerful symbiotic solution exists: Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF). This review synthesizes eight decades of research, from the pioneering observations in 1940 to contemporary studies, to build a comprehensive understanding of this critical partnership. We explore the vast, largely untapped biogeographic diversity of AMF, from the oases of North Africa to the deserts of Arabia, and detail the physiological and molecular mechanisms that underpin AMF-mediated tolerance to salinity, drought, and pathogens like Fusarium oxysporum. Evidence from individual studies indicates that AMF inoculation can increase plant biomass by more than 100% under specific stress conditions and substantially reduce Bayoud disease severity, although the magnitude of these effects varies with fungal identity, host cultivar, and experimental conditions. We then bridge this fundamental knowledge to cutting-edge biotechnological applications, including the design of precision inoculants and scalable in vitro production systems. We conclude by outlining a strategic vision for future research, focusing on the development of cultivar-specific consortia and the integration of multi-omics, to translate this fundamental ecological interaction into robust, sustainable agricultural solutions.

Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi offer opportunities for low-input agriculture, but commercial inoculant performance remains variable. This narrative and conceptual review examines the evidence for this variability and proposes a framework for more reliable development. Three findings emerge. Independent assessments reveal recurrent composition and infectivity deficiencies among tested products, without establishing their market prevalence. Root colonisation does not guarantee host benefit, nor host benefit agronomic value. Provenance effects are context-dependent, so local origin can guide sourcing but confers no universal advantage. We distinguish six performance endpoints and five development bottlenecks, separating documented constraints from hypothesised cultivation-associated trait change. A hypothesis-generating trait–environment matching framework relates establishment and host benefit separately to environmental constraints and resident AM fungal community function. A complementary quality-by-design framework begins by diagnosing whether inoculation is needed and which function is required, then links selection, production, storage validation and batch release to targeted deployment. Practical priorities are to select isolates and consortia on demonstrated function, verify retention through production and storage, and test added value against management alternatives. These frameworks require experimental validation. Verified product quality is necessary but insufficient: the selected function must be expressed where its benefit justifies intervention.