Planting and harvesting in the date oases

The date growing season traditionally begins in January when the remains of the previous harvest are cleared off the palms. Date palms are dioecious, i.e. male and female plants exist separately. For each male palm, 100 female palms must be planted. In March, when the spadices are ready, the flowers must be pollinated manually. This is done by pulling cloth saturated with pollen over the flower clusters.

A few months later, as the fruit clusters grow heavy and the harvest approaches, they are hung in a way that encourages the fruit to further develop. Ripe dates are very sensitive to moisture and to protect the ripening fruit from rain the clusters are covered from September onwards with reusable plastic bags.

At the end of October the harvest begins and the dates are gathered by hand. The palms must be climbed to be harvested and also to provide any care or maintenance: this can amount to 10 ascents per palm, per year!