Date palms - the art of harvesting dates

Oman is home to over 150 distinct species of date palms. However, only around 20 species are economically significant. If a date farmer wants to harvest plump fruit, he has to take the cultivation into his own hands in Oman.

Oman, from Musandam in the north to Sur in the east, usually offers ideal climatic conditions for the growth of the date palm, but not for a successful harvest of its fruit. Flying insects, such as bees, are rare due to the extreme drought, so the natural fertilisation of the blossoms is very inadequate from an economic point of view, and if a date farmer wants to harvest economic quantities of dates, he has to take the pollination into his own hands during the flowering period, from the end of February to the beginning of April, depending on the species. An art in itself.

The yield of dates also depends on whether the palm is grown from a seed or a scion. Trees sprouted from cores are always weaker and their fruits are small and very late. This is why cuttings from large, high-yielding and strong trees that pass on their qualities are generally preferred.