Time for famous Omani dates
MUSCAT: Since ancient times, Omanis have had a close relationship with the date palm tree. Now, it is finally harvest time for date palms in Oman.
For many families, the fruit constitutes food throughout the year. For others, palm fronds mean handicraft products that can be passed on for generations or used as an additional revenue source. After going through many stages, including pollination and harvesting, the dates are either stored or sold.
The pollination stage starts after a very cold period, locally called Tayah Al Sarda, for some varieties of dates such as Al Battash, Al Meznaj, Al Manhi, Al Gidmi, Al Naghal, Umm Al Sala, Qash Thamid, Qash Qaroot, among others. This stage begins after the pollen sprouts.
Palm clusters
Then, the farmer directly places 10 or more date palm clusters in the pollen or ties them up in the pollen with a light strip to enable the tape to open. Gradually, the date grows till it is finally released from the material attached to it.
This method is used only for palms that have a long cluster, such as Al Khenezi and Al Khisab. The process of selecting the plant variety for the pollination process is very important for the success of the breeding process.
The pollen should be open and full and the plant should not be damaged. Farmers avoid the pollination process during rainy days to prevent the failure of this process. Sprouting takes more than two months, after which the second stage begins.
The date stalk is pulled down to the level where the farmer can reach for harvesting. It can be done in two ways. In the first, the stalk is pulled down and put on the leaves. In the second way, the stalk is pulled below the leaves and tied.
After four months of the second stage, harvesting begins.
It is worth mentioning that the process of pollination varies according to the type and quality of the plant, weather, and humidity.
Opening of pollen
It can take several days, depending on how farmers deal with it. Some prefer to wait for the opening of all the pollen, while others prefer doing it individually for each pollen.
It is, however, better not to delay the date of pollination till the clusters become green in colour because it can cause the failure of the process, except in the case of some species such as Al Khenezi and Al Khasab.