Category: Dates-Date Palm-Dates Tree-Aseel

DATES – WHAT ARE DATES?

Why Dates are important for health?

Dates are fruit of Date Palm tree Phoenix dactylifera. Date palm is considered as King of Oasis.Dates are soft and sweet oval shaped with different colors and texture. Some Dates are brown and some are Dark brown and some Date varieties are Black in color. Pakistani Aseel Date and Begum Jangi Dtaes are brown.

Phoenix dactylifera is commonly known as date or date palm. It is cultivated for its edible sweet fruit. Date Palm -Date tree is flowring plant specie in the palm family.

Date is said  to have originated around the Persian Gulf, and have been cultivated for thousands of years. Date have been the staple food of the Middle East and are known as the food of the desert. Date Plam  is a medium-sized plant, 15–25 m tall, growing singly or forming a clump with several stems from a single root system.

Date Palm -Date tree  leaves are 3–5 m long, with spines on the petiole, and pinnate contain about 150 leaflets; the leaflets are 30 cm long and 2 cm wide. Date shapes are oval-cylindrical, 3–7 cm long, and 2–3 cm diameter, and when unripe, range from bright red to bright yellow in color, depending on variety of the Date. Date contain a seed  of about 2–2.5 cm long and 6–8 mm thick.

The date palm has separate male and female plants. Male date plant is sued for pollinating female date plant . Plants grown from cuttings  fruit 2–3 years earlier than seedling plants.

Dates Pollination – How pollination occur in Dates?
Natural dates pollination : Date palm are naturally wind pollinated but in both traditional oasis horticulture. Natural pollination occurs with about an equal number of male and female plants

Manual Pollination of Dates: modern commercial orchards  are entirely pollinated manually. One male can pollinate up to 100 females. Males date plants are of value only as pollinators, they can not bear fruit. its is due to this reason the growers to use their resources for many more fruit producing female plants.

Normally growers do not maintain any male plants as male flowers become available during seaon in local markets to pollinate female Date palm. Manual pollination is done by skilled laborers on ladders.

Date ripen in four stages know in  the world by their Arabic names kimri (unripe green), khalaal (full-size, crunchy yellow or red), rutab -rotab (half ripe, soft), tamr (fully ripe, sun-dried).

Why dates are important for health?

Dates are a great relief from constipation, intestinal disorders, heart problems, anemia, sexual dysfunctions, diarrhea, abdominal cancer, and many other heal issues.

They also help for a healthy weight gain. Date is rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. This sweet fruit contains oil, calcium, sulfur, iron, potassium, phosphorous, manganese, copper and magnesium, and all these naturals are beneficial for health.  Health specialists also advise to eat one date every day for a balanced and healthy diet