Organic Dates Farming, And Cultivation Practices

Introduction to Organic Dates Farming

A Date Palm tree is considered one of the fruit trees that belong to Palmaceae. Date palm is grown for its sweet edible fruits and is considered to be the oldest amongst the cultivated tree fruits. Dates are the fruit of a desert palm tree and belong to the Arecaceae family is the oldest cultivated fruit tree in the world.  It is one of the few crops that grow in the desert. Date palms are described as the “tree of life.” Date palms are extremely valued because they provide abundant food in a very harsh place. The trees grow very large; produce fruit for a long time, and can survive in extremely high temperatures and long droughts.

A Step by Step Guide to Organic Dates Farming

The date tree provides shade in the arid environment, as well as medicine and nutrition. In the desert climate, dates provide a staple food like wheat, potatoes, and rice in cooler climates. You can even grow a date tree from a date seed, found in a grocery store. Selecting organic dates means you keep harmful pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals out of your body. Organic farming keeps dangerous substances out of the soil, decreasing pollution, and protecting the environment. Organic dates tend to be fresher compared to conventionally grown dates.

Organic farming of date palm systems represents the best solution for sustainable date palm production through the use of biofertilizers, organic fertilizer, and biological control agents. Organic agriculture includes all agricultural systems that promote the environmentally, economically, and socially sound production of food. Organic farming dramatically decreases external inputs by avoiding the use of chemosynthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Organic farming of date palm on national, international, and regional levels will increase and improve fertility and productivity of the soil, increase the production of the high-quality date palm, and decrease the production costs.

Organic Soil Preparation for Dates Farming

There are no exact soil requirements but for higher production sandy loams with proper drainage, good moisture absorbent capacity, and aeration are recommended. Date palms grow fairly well in high Alkali and salty soil and water and need little maintenance. They are grown from shoots and generally begin bearing fruit within 4 to 8 years. Choose a location with full sun where soils are well-draining. Date palms can grow in sand or even clay soil. The tree is tolerant of drought but requires plenty of water when flowering and fruiting. The pH value of soil should be between 7 to 8. It is better to avoid soils having a hardpan up to 2 meters below the soil layer.

Land Preparation and Planting in Organic Dates Farming

Ploughland thoroughly for 2 to 3 times and bring soil to a fine tilth. After levelling of soil, dig pits of 1m x 1m x 1m size in a summer month. Keep open these pits for 2 weeks and then fill it with well decomposed fertile soil and cow dung.

Since the date palm trees are perennial and have a long life of about 50 years, sufficient spacing between the plants is important. In the dates palm cultivation, the square planting method is followed and a range of 8 meters between the rows is kept for proper intercultural operations and development in this process. In the Organic dates farming, the plant density is about 160 plants per hectare of land, and 10% of these must be male off-shoots to provide sufficient pollen-grains as the dates are dioecious fruits. The selected field must be ploughed 2 to 3 times and levelled to take the soil to the fine tilth point. Build the length of the pit of 1 meter in the summer to prepare for rainy season planting.

Propagation of Date Palm Plants

Date palms are propagated by seed, vegetative, and offshoots propagation. Propagation by seed brings up plants not knowing if they are female or male palms until they start flowering. Date palm seeds from the best varieties are planted in plastic bags in the nursery. Young seedlings must be transplanted to the farm field in monsoon season. This will be an expensive method of propagation involving labour and time.

In offshoot propagation, the offshoots are detached from the mother tree and transplanted to the main field. Offshoots appear in the early years of the tree life, an adult tree from 4th or 5th year onwards will borne offshoots once in a year. On good maintenance of soil conditions, fertilization, and irrigation, a tree can produce 2 offshoots in a year. To protect the terminal bud, take away the older leaves with proper care. A mixture of sand, farmyard manure, and earth are applied 6 months earlier at the base of the offshoot for separation. A single cut must separate the offshoot from the mother tree at the union. Offshoot propagation is suggested as it is easy and involves less time, labour, and cost. Therefore, seed propagation is by far the quickest and easiest method of propagation. Though it is not true to type propagation technique and no two seedlings will be alike. Due to its diversity, the seed approach can only be useful for breeding purposes.

The tree is propagated either from suckers or from seeds, offshoots that arise primarily near the base of the stem in the early years of the life of the palm. Offshoots are used for commercial plantings. When offshoots are 3 to 6 years old and have formed roots of their own, they are removed and planted. Palms begin to bear fruit in 4 to 5 years and reach full bearing at 10 to 15 years, yielding 40 to 80 kg or more each. Palms are well known to live as long as 150 years, but their fruit production decays, and in the commercial culture they are replaced at an earlier age.

Date Palm Pollination

Date palms are protandric which means that the male flowers are produced earlier than the females. For successful pollination to be guaranteed, commercial date palms are pollinated with the use of machinery or by hand. Hand pollination is done by cutting the male inflorescence from the palm and joining strands to the female inflorescence. On the other hand, the pollen is extracted and mixed with flour and the mixture is then applied mechanically to the female flowers. Mechanical pollination is conducted with the aid of a small insecticide duster called as a ‘puffer’.

Hand pollination is desirable because individual date palms are either female or male. The common method is to place strands of male flowers ready to shower pollen grains on the stigmas of the carpels of the female flowers. Identifying when the female flower is open and ready to receiving pollen is a skilled art. Normally 3 to 5 male plants are sufficient to pollinate 100 female plants.

Plant Spacing Organic Dates Farming

When plant to plant and row to row spacing of 6 meter is used, near about 112 seedlings are accommodates in one acre. Whereas for 8 meters x 8 meters spacing 63 seedlings are accommodated per acre.

Date Palm Tree Pruning

This consists of pruning of old and diseased leaves, removal of spines, cutting of undesirable inflorescences, and thinning of strands, clusters, or fruits. Usually, the number of leaves on the tree determines the number of retained inflorescences. An insufficient number of leaves affects fruit quality and decreases the number of mature fruits.

Organic Manures and Fertilization in Dates Farming

In organic cultivation fertilization strategies are based on green manure and compost. This strategy doesn’t differ much from the traditional way of fertilizing date palms. Animal manure was applied by digging a trench around the tree to bury the animal manure. Nitrogen was provided by intercropping of alfalfa (and other appropriate leguminous plants). Organic cultivation systems require a sufficient supply with composted organic materials (animal manure with other organic materials like straw and other organic waste material) regularly. At least every 4 years compost should be added to the date palm. For that reason, the compost must be brought into the soil around the stem. Regular application of organic materials improves the water holding capacity and therefore the efficiency of irrigation.

Sufficient organic manures or farmyard manure is applied at the time of land preparation for date palm cultivation. Each pit planted with an offshoot is covered with a mixture of organic manure, sand, earth, and other materials. Application of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorous are applied at regular intervals, and the dosage should be decreased as the plants grow older.

For date palm cultivation, natural and organic fertilizers are very important for the production of quality dates. This also raises the dates yield. It is recommended that the soil be supplemented with well-decomposed farmyard manure of 12 to 35 tonnes, which can be applauded in early winter. Chemical N: P: K fertilizers should be applied in the 30:20:50 kg/ha ratio and may be applied in March and April. In India, the dosage of’ N’ is 1.40 kg/tree is recommended. An adult tree needs 600 grams of’ N’ and 100 grams of’ P’ and’ K’ each year when it comes to annual requirements.

For organic cultivation of dates, soils are fertilized with green and animal manures and compost. Manure may be applied by digging a trench around the tree to bury the manure. Nitrogen can be provided by intercropping with alfalfa (and other appropriate leguminous plants). At least once every four years, compost should be applied around the date palm. Such regular applications of organic material improve water holding capacity, and also the efficiency of irrigation.

Care for a Date Palm Tree

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After planting date palms, you have to follow good date palm tree care. In addition to irrigation and support, palms need good nutrient management and pest and disease control. Manure makes an excellent fertilizer in early spring. You can also use a palm tree fertilizer high in potassium. Watch for pests and disease and deal with them quickly as they arise. Once trees are established, you will rarely need to water them. Date palms prefer dry soil and excess moisture can inhibit the growth of date palm tree.

Tips for Organic Dates Framing

• Apply organic manure in early spring.
• Fertilizers rich in potassium will be added advantage to the trees.
• Avoid over and frequent irrigation.
• Excess moisture in the soil can inhibit the growth of the tree.
• Avoid weeds growing about 5 feet radius from the tree base.
• Proper, timely pruning of leaves and thinning of fruits is recommended.
• Fruit bunches or clusters should be tied to adjacent branches for support.
• Cover the fruit clusters with a net or bag to protect from birds and pests.

Organic Pests and Diseases Management in Dates Farming

The following are the diseases and pests found date palm plantation.

Khamedj disease

Symptoms – A brown colored area on unopened spathes; partial or complete destruction of flowers

Management – Good sanitation practices and maintenance of the plantation helps to control the disease; diseased palms should be treated with Bordeaux mixture or appropriate copper-based fungicide after harvest and approximately 1 month before the emergence of spathes

Black scorch disease

Symptoms – The main symptoms of this disease are dark brown-black, hard lesions on leaves; foliage with the scorched appearance

Management – Prune out infected fronds, leaf bases, and inflorescences and burn the material immediately; pruning wounds must be protected by spraying with Bordeaux mixture

Diplodia disease

Symptoms – Death of suckers still attached to mother or after planting

Management – Disinfect all equipment regularly; protect pruning wounds and cuts with Bordeaux mixture or other appropriate copper-based fungicides

Graphiola leaf spot

Symptoms – Small spots on both sides of tree leaves; yellow spore masses on leaves; black crater-like lesions on leaves

Management – Infected leaves must be pruned out and destroyed; the disease can be controlled by sprays of Bordeaux mixture or another appropriate broad-spectrum fungicide

Major pests are weevils, scales, and mites that can be controlled by keeping pheromone traps and the application of neem seed extract.

When and How to Harvest Dates

Date fruits start appearing from 3 or 4 years onwards. The date palm starts providing fruits within three to four years after planting some may even take six years to provide yield depending upon the cultivars. Based on date variety the tree starts producing fruits and some may begin from 6 years onwards. Fruits can be harvested depending on market demand. Some of them will harvest when the fruits are immature, some may harvest when the fruits are half ripened and some may harvest when the fruits are fully ripened. With improved growing conditions and under best organic farming practices each tree can produce a yield of about 120 to 140 kg of fruits per tree.

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