Lock - Desert Magazine of the Southwest

The
Story
of
the
Date
By Henry Mockel
PROBABLY the first date palms
brought into North America
were imported from the Mediterranean
by Spanish priests who preferred
their fronds to those of native
Mexican Washingtonian palms for
the celebration of Palm Sunday. A
book published in 1863 mentions two
of this species growing as far north as
San Diego's Old Town.
Their fruit was not appealing to
palates educated to some of the finer
species of Arabia and North Africa,
however, so about 50 years ago agricultural
pioneers of Coachella Valley
imported seedlings of the phoenix dactilifera
from the Persian Gulf region.
It was the maturation of these which
fathered a unique and thriving industry
which has given Indio, California,
a famous name.
Discovering that the date palm
would survive our desert's climate and
soil was only a minor accomplishment
compared to the development of its
cultivation as an industry. And this
has always been true. Probably no
wild stands exist in the world today. It
is only because of intelligent understanding
and planning that ancient
Asians instituted its continuance into
our time. Coachella Valley date growers
had much to learn.
One of the plants' most interesting,
and problematical, aspects is its sex
life. Dioicous in habit, separate individuals
carry out the palm's male and
female functions. Skillful control is
demanded to preserve the delicate
balance of the sexes. Under plantation
management, one male is sufficient
for 50 females. Hand pollination
is conducted by cutting the male pollen-bearing
blossom stems (see illustration)
into short lengths and inserting
them in the cluster of female
blossoms, similar in appearance, of
which there may be between 25 to 30
on each tree. Insects perform the rest
of the function.
A problem that new date growers
face is one of checking to ascertain
that trees of their groves retain their
sex, as they are apt to change it within
the first eight years after planting.
Productivity is from 350 to 500
pounds per tree in modern date cul-
ture. Each specimen's performance is
carefully recorded and when one is
found especially productive, a more
direct heredity is achieved by planting
the offshoots which start to grow
at the base of a female tree, rather
than by planting a date seed which,
even though fertile itself, might carry
latent inferior characteristics of the
male parent. This technique is restricted
to pollen production.
When stems holding female blossoms
curve downward and fruitation
proceeds, young date clusters are covered
with sheets of paper to prevent
blackening of the fruit by occasional
rains. At picking time ripe dates are
carefully selected from those that
aren't yet ready, as all don't mature at
the same time. Each tree might have
to be visited eight times before all of
its fruit is gathered.
This, together with hand-pollinating
and leaf-trimming, presents a considerable
amount of labour and diligence.
A good date is more than a
product of nature; it is also a result
of craftmanship and skill. ///
March. 1964 / Desert Maaazine / 47