| Focusing
On Food |
|
Dates - Gold of
the Desert
Prepared by The Food Club’s Technical Department
Overview
In parts of Arabia the date palm is referred to as the "gold
of the desert" or as the "tree of life". Over 150 million
date palms grow throughout the world producing edible dates which are a
staple food for many of those living in sub-tropical climates.
- Date palms grow between 70-100 feet tall with 50 to 100 leaves
clustered together at the top of a long slender trunk. Each of these
leaves can be 20 feet long. From the crown of the trunk a number of
branching spikes also grow and, on the female tree, it is these which
each bear between 200 and 1000 dates. It takes between 8-10 years for
a tree to start to produce fruit and they are fully mature at 12
years. The trees live for up to 100 years but after 50 years the yield
declines. The females tree will produce between 5-10 spikes each year
yielding about 150lbs of fruit in total.
The trees can be grown from seed but this is unusual because half of
the seeds will form male trees and the sex cannot be determined until the
trees are several years old. Today most new trees are propagated by
planting suckers or offshoots taken from the base of a mature female.
Historical Prospective
The Latin name is Phoenix dactylifera from the
original Greek name. Phoenix refers to the Phoenicians who are supposed to
have been responsible for the spread of the tree and the specific name
dactylifera comes from the Greek word for date dactylos and fero meaning I
bear, hence date-bearing.
- Palm trees were one of the earliest forms of plant life on Earth
dating back over 30-70 million years and archaeologist have found
evidence of wild date palms in Egypt, Iran and Pakistan dating from
5,000-6,000 BC. Evidence of cultivated varieties has been found in
Lower Mesopotamia around 4,000 BC and written evidence of date palms
about 2,500 BC.
The date was regarded by the Egyptians as a fertility symbol and the
Carthaginians represented it on their coins as well as on their monuments.
It is still important in ceremonies in Judaism, Islam and Christianity.
The leaves are a symbol of peace for Christians and on Palm Sunday they
are used to commemorate the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.
The Moors introduced the date palm into Spain and the Spanish into
the Americas. Today there are at least 700 varieties commercially grown.
Main Producing Countries
- The primary production areas are in the Middle East; North Africa
and parts of East and South Africa; some Mediterranean Countries;
Southern USA in particular California, Arizona and Texas; India and
Pakistan.
Dates and Date Palm Products
- The Arabs maintain that there are as many uses for dates as there
are days in the year. The fruit is eaten fresh or dried and contains
up to 80% sugar. The fibre content is high and dates are a good source
of iron and potassium. The amount of sugar produced, per hectare,
compares favourably with that of sugar cane and is higher than sugar
beet.
-
- Date honey is made from the juice of fresh dates as well as date
sugar. The sap from some date trees can be made into a fermented
beverage and date palm flour is made from the pith of the tree. The
dates can be used to make wine and date oil is obtained from the seeds
and used for soap manufacture.
-
- Mats are woven from the leaves and the leaf fibres are used for
thread or for the rigging of boats. The leaf midribs are used for
fencing and roofing and wood from the trunks is cut into planks for
doors, beams and rafters.
For More Information :-
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/tisscult/biotech/datepalm.html
Date Palm Development at Wye College, London University
http://www.fao.org/docrep/t0681E/t0681e00.htm#con
FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No 101
Photo by Jody Haynes; Florida International
University, Florida, USA
Dates - Gold of the Desert.Jun2001
|